There was a time that Dallas Braden was perfect, retiring all 27 Tampa Bay Rays batters in 2010 without a hitch.
Now it is the 30-year-old who is retiring. Braden has never returned from multiple shoulder surgeries and will end his career with a 4.16 ERA over parts of five seasons.
“There is nothing left in there, it’s just a shredded mess,” Braden told Susan Slusser. “I left my arm on the mound at the Coliseum, and I’m OK with that.”
A recent MRI revealed that there was just too much damage with Barden’s arm.
“I wasn’t in a position to repeat my delivery, to pitch with any intention,” Barden said. “That’s OK, I understood the odds I was facing. You have to face your mortality one day, and I have been so blessed in this game. If I take 10 minutes to be hacked off about it, it would be nine minutes too long. You can’t ask for more than I’ve been given, coming where my grandmother and I are coming from.”
Braden is now living in Los Angeles and engaged to be married to actress Megan Barrick in November.
