Last season I watched the Vancouver Canadians up close for the entire season, and it was a hell of a ride. But while the C’s lost the playoff series to a combination of administrative penny-pinching, scheduling nightmares, and out and out fatigue, the year had a whole lot of success stories to remember.

One of these involved a kid from Stockton California; a weird looking, tattooed firestorm of a kid who was picked up by the A’s almost as an afterthought in the 24th round of the draft (pick #727), and soon found he possessed a screwball that nobody could touch.

That kid was "Diamond" Dallas Braden, and when he got kicked upstairs to Kane County, the Vancouver faithful nodded appreciatively, for Braden was simply too hot to stay in short season ball. Thankfully, that promotion couldn’t happen to a more genuine guy, and it continues a story that almost never began.

The story goes that when Braden was a kid, he was all over the wrong side of the tracks. ‘A troubled youth’ is what they might have called him on CNN, and a life of pain seemed to be beckoning when young Dallas started skipping school, breezing through practice sessions, and getting tangled with the wrong kinds of folk.

Braden’s grandmother and high school ball coach got their heads together, held an intervention, and told Dallas that he was throwing his talent away. They chewed him out, extended a helping hand, and gave Braden the support he needed to straighten up, fly right, get into college, play some serious ball and get picked up by the Athletics.

Usually, when a kid is drafted and handed a check for money he’s not seen before (even 24th round money), he’ll go out and spend a little. I saw that writ large in Vancouver last year – kids talking about the Ford Explorer they were going to buy as soon as they got home, complete with bling, rather than the scouting report on tomorrow night’s starting pitcher. Well, Braden wasn’t cut with that kind of cloth… when he got his sign-on check, he turned around and gave it away to the people who helped him get drafted – his grandmother and his coach. He may be rough around the edges (in fact, he’s rough all over), but the kid has heart, and a long memory.

I talked to Braden a few times while he was in Vancouver, and he discussed how he came to throw the screwer. "I used to throw it in high school, and when I got to college I thought I need other pitches if I was going to make it. So I kind of stopped throwing it more than once in a while. Then when I got drafted I was just goofing around with the guys and threw a couple and it was like, ‘Dude, what the hell was that?’ So I brought it back out and… I dunno what happened to it, but it’s really moving. Like, really moving. Suddenly I feel confident out there, like there’s not a guy in this league that can hit it."

Next day, Braden got the call up and he was one a plane for Kane County. Once there, he went to work, mowing down opponents with that nasty screwball, racking up ungodly K’s, and putting paid to any question as to whether the pitcher’s ballpark at Vancouver was giving him a false reputation.

He started this year in Stockton – his hometown – and his lines have been ridiculous all season.

Opponent IP H R ER BB K HR ERA
Lake Elsinore (W, 1-0) 6.1 6 3 2 0 8 0 1.74
Visalia (W, 2-0) 5.1 7 3 3 1 9 0 2.87
San Jose (W, 3-0) 6.0 5 3 3 2 10 1 3.32
Lancaster (W, 4-0) 7.0 3 2 2 1 11 1 3.14
Inland Empire (W, 5-0) 6.0 2 2 2 3 11 1 3.12

–++ Promoted to AA Ball! ++–
Corpus Christi (W, 1-0) 6.2 7 0 0 2 5 0 0.00
Frisco (W, 2-0) 6.0 4 2 2 5 4 0 1.42
Arkansas (L, 2-1) 8.0 8 4 4 1 4 1 2.61
Springfield (W, 3-1) 7.0 5 1 1 2 8 0 2.28

It’s been said that Braden, like teammate Jason Windsor, will likely be a middle reliever in the bigs if he gets there, and this might well be the case. After all, 2004 Vancouver pitching coach Craig "Lefty" Lefferts suggested to me that if Braden relies solely on The Screw, he’s going to get found out in the higher levels of ball in a bad way, but surely nobody suspected that the guy would throw 10+ K’s – EVERY GAME – over only 6 and a bit innings per outing.

54 K’s in only 34.2 innings of pitching? That’s nuts! I mean, lower class hitters or not, them’s crazy numbers, and numbers that established studs-to-be like Windsor are not having any luck copying against the same standard of hitter.

So does Braden have a shot at actually turning into a starter in big league ball? Is the Screwball really predictable (and seen) enough to hurt him against better hitters? And if it is, does he have the stuff to rely on a fastball/change up/curve combo when needed?

For the answers to these questions I must rely upon you guys, for in a month’s time there will be a new class of college draftees descending upon my town for another season of short ball, and I’ll be looking out for the next Diamond Dallas Braden. If we get one each year, we’ll be a lucky lot.

Braden Enthralls Hometown Crowd
5/12/2005
By Jagdip Dhillon, Stockton Record Staff Writer

STOCKTON – By the end, Dallas Braden had his hometown crowd on their feet begging for one last strikeout. He delivered the final punchout, providing the perfect finish to another spectacular performance.

This time, the San Jose Giants were his victim, as he threw a complete-game five-hitter, leading the Stockton Ports to a 5-1 victory in front of 1,836 fans at Stockton Ballpark. Braden improved his league-best record to 6-0.

“I’m feeding off the support of the fans,” Braden said. “To be able to come home and produce feels awesome.”

Against San Jose, he produced 11 strikeouts and walked just one batter. Manager Todd Steverson said Braden’s performance was exactly what his team needed after dropping the first two games of the series.

“He gave us a well-needed shot in the arm,” Steverson said. “He’s been as consistent as anybody can be. That’s a heck of a job to get that many strikeouts and still get a complete game.”

Braden made his only mistake to Todd Jennings in the first inning, who laced it over the right-center field wall for a solo home run. The Giants were generally listless after that, with second baseman Kevin Frandsen getting three of their four remaining hits.

[...][Luke] Appert said the team is enjoying Braden’s performances as much as the crowd.

“It’s unbelievable just watching him pitch,” Appert said. “I don’t know if I’ve played with a pitcher who’s had more charisma on the mound. He’s a great competitor and awesome to play behind.”

After appeasing the crowd by striking out Nate Schierholtz for the fourth time to end the game, Braden took the game ball over to his grandmother Peggy Lindsey. She was sitting among a large contingent of his family and friends, all of whom cheered wildly after every San Jose out.

This sort of story is why minor league baseball will forever be better than the majors. Period.