COLUMBIA — Jackie Bradley Jr. won back-to-back NCAA championships with South Carolina, then was an All-Star, a Gold Glove winner, an American League Championship Series MVP and World Series champion over 11 years in Major League Baseball.
Now he’s made history as the first former MLB player to commit to playing full-time Banana Ball after he was selected with the first pick by the Indianapolis Clowns in the inaugural Banana Ball player draft last week.
The exhibition baseball league — made famous by the Savannah Bananas — features six teams (Bananas, Clowns, Party Animals, Firefighters, Loco Beach Coconuts, Texas Tailgaters) that will play a 60-game schedule in 2026.
Bradley has experience with Banana Ball, making an appearance with the Savannah Bananas in July in Boston.
Now, he’ll play for a team with a long history rooted in the Negro Leagues. The Clowns’ origins trace back to 1935, the Negro Leagues’ version of the Harlem Globetrotters, and was the team Henry Aaron played for before being purchased by the Boston Braves in 1952. The franchise was disbanded in 1989 but will be revived in 2026.
“I feel like this was another opportunity to not only help the league, but to be able to help the people behind me to … hopefully, catapult other African American ballplayers to want to play the game,” Bradley said in an interview with ESPN.
Boston center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. makes a diving catch on a flyout by Tampa Bay Rays’ Brandon Lowe during the third inning in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020.
File/Chris O’Meara/AP
Bradley helped the Gamecocks win the College World Series in 2010 and 2011, being named CWS Most Outstanding Player in 2010.
He was selected in the first round of the 2011 MLB draft by the Boston Red Sox and played 11 seasons with Boston, Milwaukee, Toronto and Kansas City, last playing with the Royals in 2023.
Bradley played five games with the Greenville Drive, the High-A affiliate for the Red Sox; however, all five were away games. He nevertheless has appeared six times at Flour Field — playing five games there as a Gamecock and throwing out the first pitch Aug. 8 as part of the Drive’s 20th anniversary celebration.
A Gold Glove winner in 2018, Bradley was an All-Star with the Red Sox in 2016, a year he had career highs in homers (26), RBIs (87), batting average (.267) and OPS (.835). He was also the 2018 ALCS MVP with Boston, the last season the Red Sox won the title.
While his last game was in 2023, the 35-year-old hasn’t ruled out a return to the majors. He was a TV analyst for some college baseball games last year.
“If there’s an opportunity to go back, I would obviously weigh that,” Bradley told ESPN. “If that’s for my family, then I’m not going to rule out any opportunities. But it’s not something I’m striving for. I’m very content with how my career has unfolded. I’ve been truly blessed. I’m just enjoying the moment.”