Brad Lesley

Brad Lesley
Pitcher
Born: (1958-09-11)September 11, 1958 Turlock, California
Died: April 27, 2013(2013-04-27) (aged 54) Marina del Rey, California
Batted: Right Threw: Right
debut
July 31, 1982, for the Cincinnati Reds
Last appearance
October 4, 1985, for the Milwaukee Brewers
Career statistics
Win-Loss Record	1-3
Strikeouts	46
ERA	3.86
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
Cincinnati Reds (1982–84) Milwaukee Brewers (1985) Hankyu Braves (1986–87)

Bradley Jay Lesley (September 11, 1958 – April 27, 2013) was an American professional athlete turned actor and media personality. Lesley was an especially imposing physical figure, standing 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) and weighing 230 lb (100 kg). Nicknamed "The Animal", he was known for his aggressive style to motivate himself.

Early life

Bradley Lesley was born in Turlock, California, and he attended Turlock High School. Later, he attended Merced College in Merced, California.

Career

Athlete

He played professional baseball for two Major League Baseball teams. He was drafted in the first round in 1978 by the Cincinnati Reds, for whom pitched he pitched parts of three seasons, from 1982 to 1984. He pitched in the Reds' minor-league system for five seasons before being called up to the majors. He made his big-league debut at age 23 on July 31, 1982 in a 5-4 Reds loss at Riverfront Stadium, pitching a scoreless ninth inning against the San Diego Padres. Overall in his rookie season, he pitched 28 games (all in relief) with an 0-2 record but a fine 2.58 earned run average. The following season he appeared in only five games for the Reds, going0-0 with a 2.16 ERA, and in 1984 he pitched in 16 Reds' games, going 0-1 with a 5.12 ERA.

On November 12, 1984 his contract was purchased by the Milwaukee Brewers. He pitched in five games for the Brewers, going 1-0 but with a 9.95 ERA. After the season he was released, ending his Major League career. He then played two seasons in Japan for the Hankyu Braves. His record in Japan was 7–5, 24 saves, 60 games over two years.

Media personality

After retiring from athletics, he became a television personality in Japan, where he is probably best known for his role as Ajimaru "Animal" Resry in the Japanese gameshow, Takeshi's Castle. He participated in games such as Devil's Domain, Stuck Up and his own game, Animal Bang. Takeshi's Castle would later be shown in the US on the cable network Spike TV as Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, later shortened to MXC.

Actor

Lesley appeared in feature films, including Brother (2000) (as Moose), Big Monster on Campus (2000) (as Arnie), Buddy (1997) (as Ali Baba), A Boy Called Hate (1996) (as the Moving Truck Driver), Little Big League (1994) (as John 'Blackout' Gatling) and Mr. Baseball (1992) (as Niven).

Personal life

Lesley was married at one time to Chiho Svimonoff and they had one son. However, they divorced.

Lesley had been suffering from kidney problems and had been living in a nursing home for many months, where he was receiving dialysis. He was rushed to a hospital in Marina del Rey, where he died from kidney failure on April 27, 2013.

External links

• Career statistics from Baseball Reference
• Brad Lesley at IMDb
• Japanese baseball cards and video clips of Brad Lesley