Baseball/Softball Media Center

Sports Illustrated Article on Mizuno Brand Ambassador Dallas Braden

Excellent Sports Illustrated Article on Mizuno Brand Ambassador Dallas Braden Following his Perfect Game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, May 9th, Mizuno Brand Ambassador and Oakland A's Starting Pitcher Dallas Braden has consistently been in the media spotlight. He was the top story in every sports newspaper and website on Monday, did the "Top Ten" on David Letterman, and now there is a feature article in the latest edition of Sports Illustrated, one of the largest sports specific publications on the planet. The Sports Illustrated feature takes an in-depth look at Dallas Braden's life story, which is full of peaks and valleys. The 26 year old left hander grew up in Stockton, California, a place infamous for having high crime rates, low employment, poverty, steep taxes, illiteracy, obesity, and low property value. To make matters worse, Braden lost his mother, who was already a single parent, to skin cancer when she was just 39 years old. He was in high school at the time, and moved in with his Grandmother, Peggy Lindsey. Braden continued with his baseball career, and was drafted in the 24th round of the 2004 Draft by the Oakland franchise. He worked his way through their minor league system, battling severe and often bizarre injuries along the way. Braden has had numerous surgeries for the bone defect in the humerus bone on his left arm (his pitching arm), he has dealt with a nasal defect that causes him breathing trouble, and most recently had a cyst in his left foot removed. As an added bonus, the doctors accidentally severed a nerve during the cyst removal surgery, which causes numbness and tingling in his foot frequently. His baseball career had been very average leading up to Sunday, where he had won just 17 games, while losing 23. Braden did make his way into the news earlier this season after calling out New York Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez for walking across the mound during a game. Rodriguez dismissed his actions by belittling Braden's achievements on the field, comparing them to his own multi-award winning MVP accomplishments. But Braden was PERFECT on Sunday, throwing the 19th Perfect Game in Major League Baseball history, and doing so against the team with the best record in the big leagues currently. His grandmother was in attendance, and the two shared a very special embrace following the game. Sports Illustrated talks in great detail about all of these moments, and what a unique and special story Braden's Perfect Game truly is. To pitch the game of his life on Mother's Day, with his Grandmother there, and with several friends and family having purchased tickets in section 209 (a promotion by the A's for Braden's hometown Stockton area code) is one of the more remarkable moments in sports.