Bobby Bradley happy to hit first home run as he adjusts to life in the big leagues

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CLEVELAND, Ohio – Bobby Bradley knew it was gone the moment his bat made contact with the 3-2 pitch from reliever Tyler Duffey in Saturday night's loss to the Twins.

Bradley stood and admired his first big league home run as it sailed into the right field stands at Progressive Field.

“It felt great off the bat,” he said. “That was amazing, a dream come true, and to do it in front of the home crowd is even better.”

Bobby Bradley CRUSHED this ball⚾️ pic.twitter.com/edAqbIp1bZ

— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) July 14, 2019  

The 23-year-old entered play Saturday without a home run in 35 Major League at-bats. Bradley knew it would come eventually, but admitted the lack of home runs was on his mind.

“You try not to let those thoughts creep back up, but they're always going to, so you just have to try to find ways to balance it out,” Bradley said.

He's used to hitting home runs. He hit 24 of them in 67 games for Triple-A Columbus, but this one is special. He's going to send the ball back home to his family for safe keeping. 

Bradley's had his struggles since joining the Indians, compiling eight hits in 13 games, including five doubles and 16 strikeouts.

Pitchers are throwing a lot of off-speed pitches to Bradley, which is something they did in Triple-A, but it’s been more effective against him in the big leagues.  

“Stuff is a little bit better up here,” Bradley said. “They make adjustments a lot faster up here. They can go down in the dugout and look at stuff in between innings or right after an at-bat or things like that, as can we, so it's a constant game of adjustments.”

Bradley hopes Saturday’s night’s blast was a sign of things to come. He’s learning everyday and knows that growing into a successful big leaguer is going to take time.

“I never really get too down on myself. I come back every day with a new attitude.”