Perfect game pitcher could've been a Brave
Twenty two days after they were no-hit by Colorado's Ubaldo Jimenez, the Braves watched a former draft pick hurl the 19th perfect game in major league history.
Dallas Braden, the 1,383rd player selected in the 1991 amateur draft, on Sunday became the second Braves draft pick to toss a perfect game. Six years earlier, on May 18, 2004, Randy Johnson struck out 13 Braves to achieve perfection. He was drafted by Atlanta in 1982.
Neither Braden or the Big Unit ever signed with Atlanta, choosing college instead. The similarities end there.
Braden was a 140-pound southpaw out of Stagg High School in hardscrabble Stockton, Calif. when he was discovered by the only scout who seemed to spot his potential: "J" Harrison, then the Western crosschecker for Atlanta. He convinced the Braves to select Braden in the 46th round as a "draft-and-follow" player.
"I knew with some strength and some guidance he could be something," Harrison told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Braden's senior year was a test, as he lost his mother to cancer. Baseball was his sanctuary, he said. "It was that or jail," Braden, 26, told the Chronicle.
The lefty ended up at tiny American River College in Sacramento. The school's baseball coach had never heard of him but gave Braden a shot after learning he had been drafted by the Braves. Braden was twice named to the all-conference team before transferring to Texas A&M in 2003. The following year he was drafted in the 24th round by the Oakland A's, for whom he had a 17-23 career record entering Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
"He's had as many challenges as the worst stories you hear," Harrison said. "But all he needed was for someone to open the door, and he took care of the rest."
While Braden and Johnson never pitched for the Braves, the team did have two hurlers with perfect games to their credit. And no, they weren't named Maddux, Smoltz or Glavine. Did you guess Len Barker and Dennis Martinez, who achieved perfection with the Cleveland Indians and Montreal Expos, respectively? Probably not.
About the Author
A native Atlantan, Boone joined the AJC staff in 2007. He quickly carved out a niche covering crime stories, assuming the public safety beat in 2014. He's covered some of the biggest trials this decade, from Hemy Neuman to Ross Harris to Chip Olsen, the latter of which was featured on Season 7 of the AJC's award-winning "Breakdown" podcast.
