The 2021 Major League Baseball season was a trying campaign for Jackie Bradley Jr., to say the least.
Bradley struggled from wire to wire in his first and only season with the Brewers, who traded the veteran outfielder back to Boston in early December. The 10th-year pro set career lows in virtually every major statistical category, including a woeful .163 batting average compiled over 134 games with Milwaukee.
JBJ didn’t hide from last year’s shortcomings when he met with Boston media Saturday morning in Fort Meyers, Fla.
“Obviously, I played terrible,” Bradley told reporters, per The Boston Globe. “I didn’t like the way I performed. I’ve got to be better and get better. I definitely don’t want the taste of how last year was so I have to move on, learn from it, and make adjustments … everything was bad last year.”
Bradley’s plan for trying to bounce back from his down season couldn’t be any less complex.
“Just do the opposite of what I did last year,” Bradley told reporters.
Fortunately for Bradley, he’s back in very similar surroundings with a team that was two wins away from the World Series last season. This obviously doesn’t ensure Bradley will put together a productive 2022 season, but it can’t hurt his cause.
“There’s a lot of positive reinforcements,” Bradley told reporters. “It’s amazing. The people are able to reach out. With social media, a lot people think of it as negative, but there’s a lot of positive that comes out of it, as well. I think it’s all on how you use it. It’s good to hear from everybody.
“I don’t know if it will necessarily help me. Help me is putting the work in and getting the job done and executing. Obviously, it’s a good thing to be supported. It keeps you motivated.”
It won’t be long until JBJ is back playing meaningful games for Boston. The Red Sox are set to begin their regular-season slate April 7 when they open a three-game series with the New York Yankees in the Bronx.
