The Athletics announced Tuesday that they acquired the volatile outfielder from the Los Angeles Dodgers for infielder Antonio Perez and Texas League player of the year Andre Ethier.
"I couldn't be happier," Bradley said. "I'm playing major league baseball and having fun.
"I'm a California guy (so) it's exciting for me. I wish the Dodgers well, wish their team well."
Milton Bradley was traded to Oakland. (AP Photo/Matt Brown)
Bradley, a productive veteran but one with anger-management issues, averaged .290 with 13 home runs, 38 runs batted in and 49 runs in 75 games last season, his second in Dodger blue.
The 27-year-old missed 47 games because of a finger injury and the final 38 games with a torn left patella tendon suffered on Aug. 23, the same day he made scathing comments about teammate Jeff Kent.
"We got along as well as we could," Bradley said. "It didn't work for me."
Bradley accused Kent of lacking leadership and failing to get along with African-American players.
The next day, he learned that the injuries to his left knee, reportedly sustained during a domestic dispute at his home which prompted three visits by police, required season-ending surgery.
"It's something you have to consider, no question," Athletics general manager Billy Beane said of Bradley's candid behaviour.
"And that's out of respect for the guys already here."
The Toronto Blue Jays reportedly inquired about Bradley's availability during the winter meetings, but Dodgers rookie GM NickColletti wanted to try to reconcile with him first.
"I went into it with the idea of trying to keep him a Dodger," Colletti said. "It was clearer and clearer there was no way to make this thing work.
"I got no glimmer at all that it could work. I was looking for a way to mediate, I was looking for a way to keep him.
"(But) at every turn, I just got stopped. I got it from a lot of different places including inside the clubhouse, outside the clubhouse, people who have known him very well and have known him for a long time."
Asked to assess Bradley's reputation, Beane replied: "The great thing about our clubhouse is that we can absorb a lot. It's a pretty tight group, so there's a lot of guys who can fit into our clubhouse."
Bradley is a career .269 hitter with 54 HRs, 233 RBIs and 272 runs in 534 games over six MLB seasons with the Montreal Expos, Cleveland Indians and Dodgers.
But his bad temper lands him in plenty of trouble as this year's public feud with Kent, a heated dispute with Indians manager Eric Wedge and four ejections and two suspensions in 2004 would suggest.
"I know I'm going to be successful, regardless," Bradley said. "I'm a no-nonsense guy."
with files from CP Online
