Five-Minute Interview with Dallas Braden

The A’s organization just finished spending the entire past week feting Dallas Braden and his perfect game. Braden deserved every minute of it. His perfecto on May 9 was only the 19^th in Major League Baseball history and only the second in A’s history (the first coming from Jim “Catfish” Hunter on May 8, 1968).

The personable lefty from Stockton found himself hurled into the spotlight that glorious Mother’s Day. He became an instant national celebrity, making appearances on ESPN and the Late Show with David Letterman.

I met him for the first time today and even though he’s been asked the same questions about his remarkable feat a million and one times, he graciously answered them one more time for me.

Baseball by the Bay: At what point did you realize that you were about to throw a perfect game?

Dallas Braden: I realized what was going on around the sixth when we started to string some hits together and (Tampa Bay Rays starter James) Shields started to lose a little bit of his rhythm. When a guy like that gets out of rhythm, you start to notice, because it’s a crucial part of the game.

I was in the dugout and I looked up at the scoreboard and I saw no hits and I knew that I hadn’t walked anyone, that’s when I started to get a little nervous.

BBB: How did you stay focused for the next three innings?

Braden: I just wanted to keep my team in the game and give them opportunities to win. When the outs kept coming, I became more and more in tune with what (catcher Landon Powell) and I were trying to do.

BBB: Did your teammates treat you differently in the dugout when they realized that a perfect game could happen?

Braden: They didn’t treat me any differently than when I usually pitch. The day I pitch, I’m all business. They don’t talk to me, nobody says a word to me. They stay away from me on the day I pitch so it was no different from any other day.

BBB: How do you feel about your sudden celebrity?

Braden: It’s not too different than before in that as a professional athlete, people want your autograph and people want to talk to you. Now, it’s a little more specific in that people want to talk about that game and tell me how they appreciate how it happened. It’s weird to think that you can bring so much joy to people just by going out and playing a game that makes you happy.

BBB: What was more fun, celebrating your perfect game or being on “Letterman”?

Braden: I would say going through the process with my teammates, the celebration and that short two-hour time span that it took for it to come together. Watching my teammates making plays behind me, Landon and I being on the same page from the get-go, sharing with those guys on a special day and knowing that we were all sharing that with our mothers and grandmothers that day—that was the fun part.

BBB: And “Letterman”?

Braden: It was a thrill. They say that you know that you’ve made it when you get on “Letterman”. I don’t know if I’ve made it yet, but I guess I’m one step closer than before. It’s been a riot. The biggest thing is that my grandma has been able to come along with me every step of the way and she’s been having a blast. She’s been having the time of her life. She’ll be throwing out the first pitch at the Sacramento Rivercats game. She’s gotten a lot of attention and she’s been handling it like she’s been a pop star for the past 30 years.

BBB: How do feel about being in the company of Randy Johnson, David Wells, Catfish Hunter and the others who have thrown a perfect game?

Braden: I don’t even put myself in the same company as those guys. I’m just on a very distinguished list with them, but I’m nowhere near in their company. They did so much in this game and accomplished so much—they are what I strive to be. I want their careers, not just the one achievement.

BBB: It’s well known that you did not have the easiest life growing up, but now here you are a successful professional athlete with a perfect game under your belt. What message would you like to send to others who may be going through what you went through?

Braden: You don’t need every opportunity in the world—you just need to take advantage of the opportunity that’s presented to you. It’s possible to reach the pinnacle of your dream—it’s just a matter of not letting anyone knock you down and keep you down. It’s okay to get knocked down, but you’ve got to get back up.