As a baseball professional, Joel Bradley worked as an international scout with the Baltimore Orioles from 2012-2018. Hired by the Orioles top baseball executive, Dan Duquette (Brewers, Expos, Red Sox, and Orioles) in 2011 as an associate, he later became a full-time scout under Director of International Recruitment, Fred Ferreira (Angels, Yankees, Reds, Expos, Marlins and Orioles).
Joel’s travels and evaluations in Latin America, Asia and the Caribbean assisted the department in signing over 40 players to Orioles contracts during his tenure. From 2012 to 2017, the resurgent Orioles owned the best record in Major League Baseball at 444-366 (.548) despite playing 36 games per season against the super clubs of the American League East that perennially have more resources.
Originally from Texas, Joel played football and baseball in high school and later played basketball and baseball in college. In 1985, Joel moved to Miami, Florida and began coaching youth baseball and football while working as a licensed futures professional. By 2000, he and his family relocated to Broward County, Florida where he subsequently became the pitching coach at Deerfield Beach High School in 2001. While at Deerfield Beach he helped the Bucs to its first ever 20-win season which culminated with its first district championship behind two future Major League pitchers, Mike Fiers (Brewers, Astros, Tigers and A’s) and Mickey Storey (A’s, Astros and Blue Jays).
He later helped construct pitching programs at 5 additional high schools as either pitching coach or head coach including a stop at 2007 District champion Douglas High where he assisted a young left handed pitcher Anthony Rizzo (1B) of the New York Yankees. His impact in Broward baseball circles includes past work developing travel baseball programs in Miramar, Plantation, Pembroke Pines, Weston, Coral Springs, Parkland and Hollywood. In 2022, Joel became a pitching consultant to Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines, Florida and helped lead the Falcons to a top 5 ranking in Broward County.
Players during his time coaching include: Aramis Garcia (SF Giants, Oakland A’s), Luis Guillarme (NY Mets), Dereck Rodriguez (SF Giants, Colorado Rockies), Brian Gonzalez (Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies), Jordan Spicer (Colorado Rockies), RHP Buddy Hayward (Philadelphia Phillies), 2021 first round pick Andy Painter (Philadelphia Phillies), and Gary Mattis Jr. (Arizona Diamondbacks).
Bradley also coached football at Taravella High School in Coral Springs, Everglades High School in Miramar, and Coral Springs Christian Academy in Coral Springs. In 2005, as head defensive coordinator he helped lead Coral Springs Christian Academy to its first playoff appearance after going 7-3. His defense was ranked second in the county for private school rankings and is credited with the most forced turnovers in school history.
His success as a coach led him to opportunities working with diverse communities. As a classroom instructor, Joel taught English I and English II as well as English Honors and Reading from 2002 until 2009 at five schools in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties.
In 2010, Bradley became the head pitching coach at Broward College and helped the Seahawks with improved ERA’s and WHIP totals as well as increased velocities and a winning record.
He founded International Baseball Partners (IBP) in 2015, a corporation with designs to create and manage baseball leagues, stadiums, and advanced media opportunities around the world. His creativity, vision and consultation led to the formation of Project 421, an academy complex project for the Island of Curacao. Joel’s travels also allowed for the connection, design, and consultation of emerging baseball league formations in Argentina, Bahamas, Chile, Curacao, and Guatemala.
His innovative spirit also brought to life the Quiscaya League, a “July Second” player development league in the Dominican Republic. Bradley also developed innovative Player Option Contracts (POC) as a solution to under the table dealing between teams and agents outside the United States. Bradley also proposed the creation of a self-governing Association of Baseball Academies and Trainers (BAAT) outside the United States to bring about transparency in international development. He also was invited by United States Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Robin Bernstein, to assist in addressing serious issues of doping and education affecting youngsters in the Dominican Republic.
In 2008, Joel designed a probability application that would gamify the game using mathematical probability to engage audiences (BaseballLive). He also created the 7-player game to increase fan interest and offer a new model of player development lost in technocracy. His eye for innovation led to his forming an Over-the-Top (OTT) platform called World Baseball Live (WBL), a portal for audiences to view international baseball from leagues across the globe. In 2023, Joel founded the Highlights Baseball Network (HBN) that condenses game action and clips player highlights for burgeoning audiences weaned on action and limited time to consume sports content.
Additionally, Bradley signed a two-book deal with baseball publisher, Summer Game Books. The 7-Player Baseball Revolution (2022), and Against the Rules…The Rise of Baseball Technocracy (scheduled to be released in 2024).
Bradley has a B.A. English (Creative Writing) degree from the University of Miami. He has worked in the financial services profession having held licenses in Real Estate, Mortgage, Series 3, Series 30, Life, Health and Variable Annuities. He also was a public school educator in Florida and Texas from 2002 until 2009. He has two sons (Ryan and Cody) and a granddaughter (Natalie).