# Dallas Braden
**Dallas Braden** (Dallas Lee Braden, born 1983 in [Phoenix, Arizona](https://www.edgepedia.org/phoenix-arizona)) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and current broadcaster who threw the 19th perfect game in [Major League Baseball](https://www.edgepedia.org/major-league-baseball) history on May 9, 2010, for the [Oakland Athletics](https://www.edgepedia.org/oakland-athletics), the only team he played for in a five-season career cut short by shoulder problems.[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bradeda01.shtml) • [2](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Dallas_Braden)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1983, Phoenix, AZ; bats and throws left-handed; 6 ft 1 in, 185 lb[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bradeda01.shtml) |
| Draft | Atlanta Braves, 46th round, 2001 (did not sign); Oakland Athletics, 24th round (727th overall), 2004, from Texas Tech University[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bradeda01.shtml) • [3](https://www.mlb.com/player/dallas-braden-460284) |
| MLB career | 2007–2011, all with Oakland: 26–36, 4.16 ERA, 491.1 innings, 305 strikeouts, 1.325 WHIP in 94 games (79 starts)[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bradeda01.shtml) |
| Perfect game | May 9, 2010, Mother's Day, against the Tampa Bay Rays; the 19th perfect game in major league history and second in Athletics history[2](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Dallas_Braden) • [4](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/perfection-2/) |
| Career end | Last game April 16, 2011; season-ending surgery on May 17, 2011 to repair a torn capsule in his left shoulder[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bradeda01.shtml) • [3](https://www.mlb.com/player/dallas-braden-460284) |
| Broadcasting | ESPN Baseball Tonight in-studio analyst from 2014; A's television analyst on NBC Sports California from 2024[2](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Dallas_Braden) • [12](https://apnews.com/article/dea6a778d2787ca0d51e959177d117a1) |
## Early life and draft
Braden was raised in [Stockton, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/stockton-california), played high school baseball at Stagg High School, and played collegiate baseball for American River College and the Texas Tech Red Raiders.[6](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-111hres1351ih/pdf/BILLS-111hres1351ih.pdf) His mother, Jodie Atwood, died of cancer when he was in high school, and his grandmother, Peggy Lindsey, raised him afterward.[6](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-111hres1351ih/pdf/BILLS-111hres1351ih.pdf)
The [Atlanta Braves](https://www.edgepedia.org/atlanta-braves) drafted him in the 46th round of the 2001 draft out of high school, but he elected to stay in school and did not sign.[7](https://www.mlb.com/news/dallas-braden-a-cult-hero-for-oakland-athletics) The Oakland Athletics selected him in the 24th round of the 2004 draft from Texas Tech.[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bradeda01.shtml) He made his professional debut in 2006 with the A's affiliate in the Arizona Rookie League.[8](https://library.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/publications/baseball/yearbooks/BOAKAMG-2011-oakland-athletics-media-guide.pdf)
## Major league career
**Debut and early struggles.** Braden was selected from Triple-A Sacramento on April 23, 2007, and made his major league debut the next day at Baltimore, winning 4–2 with six innings of one-run ball; he was the 10th A's pitcher to start in his debut and win.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/dallas-braden-460284) The rest of the season went badly: he lost each of his final eight decisions and finished 1–8 with a 6.72 ERA in 20 games, 14 starts, an ERA that ranked third highest in Oakland history for a pitcher with at least 70 innings.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/dallas-braden-460284) • [2](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Dallas_Braden)
**2008 and 2009.** In 2008 he moved between the bullpen and the rotation, going 5–4 with a 4.14 ERA in 19 games, 10 starts, before a strained groin ended his season in September.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/dallas-braden-460284) He took the ball for Oakland on Opening Day in 2009, posting an 8–9 record with a 3.89 ERA across 22 starts, until a foot rash caused nerve damage that cut his season short in August.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/dallas-braden-460284) Poor run support marked both years: he was 1–17 in 22 career starts with zero or one run of support, compared with 12–4 in 24 starts with two or more.[9](https://pressbox.athletics.com/Publications/Season%20Reviews/2009%20Oakland%20A%27s%20Season%20In%20Review.pdf)
**2010.** Braden's best season was 2010, when he pitched 192.2 innings with a 3.50 ERA, though weak run support left him an 11–14 record; his ERA was the lowest by an Oakland pitcher with a losing record since 1978.[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bradeda01.shtml) • [3](https://www.mlb.com/player/dallas-braden-460284) He ranked fifth in the [American League](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-league) in fewest walks per nine innings (2.01), tied for the league lead in shutouts with two, and had the fourth-lowest run support in the AL at 3.60 runs per start.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/dallas-braden-460284)
## The perfect game
On May 9, 2010, [Mother's Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/mothers-day), Braden retired all 27 [Tampa Bay Rays](https://www.edgepedia.org/tampa-bay-rays) batters he faced at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, finishing the 4–0 victory by retiring [Gabe Kapler](https://www.edgepedia.org/gabe-kapler); it was the 19th perfect game in major league history.[4](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/perfection-2/) • [10](https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/may-9-2010-oaklands-dallas-braden-retires-27-straight-in-perfect-game-on-mothers-day/) He threw 109 pitches, 77 for strikes, at age 26 years, 269 days, making him the second-oldest pitcher to throw a no-hitter in Oakland history behind Dave Stewart.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/dallas-braden-460284) It was the second perfect game by an Athletic, coming 42 years and one day after Catfish Hunter's on May 8, 1968, and the first A's no-hitter since Dave Stewart on June 29, 1990.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/dallas-braden-460284) The Elias Sports Bureau noted that no pitcher before him had hurled a perfect game versus a club that arrived that day holding baseball's top record, and that the feat occurred in his 68th big-league appearance, the third-lowest total of any pitcher to throw a perfect game.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/dallas-braden-460284) • [11](https://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/archives/5884.html)
The game was also his first career complete game, snapping a career-opening streak of 52 consecutive starts without going the distance, an Oakland record.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/dallas-braden-460284) Afterward he hugged his grandmother Peggy Lindsey on the field and presented her with the game ball.[6](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-111hres1351ih/pdf/BILLS-111hres1351ih.pdf) He was named American League Player of the Week for the effort.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/dallas-braden-460284)
## Injury and retirement
Braden's career was shortened by shoulder problems.[2](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Dallas_Braden) His 2011 season ended after only three starts when, on May 17, Dr. David Altchek, the [New York Mets](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-mets)' medical director, operated to fix a capsule tear in his left shoulder.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/dallas-braden-460284) His final appearance was a win over Detroit on April 16, 2011, five scoreless innings.[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bradeda01.shtml) He finished with a career line of 26–36, a 4.16 ERA, and 305 strikeouts in 491.1 innings.[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bradeda01.shtml)
## Broadcasting
In 2014 Braden became an in-studio analyst for [Baseball Tonight](https://www.edgepedia.org/baseball-tonight) on ESPN.[2](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Dallas_Braden) He later returned to A's coverage: in February 2024, when [Jenny Cavnar](https://www.edgepedia.org/jenny-cavnar) was hired by NBC Sports California as the first woman to handle primary play-by-play duties in major league history, she named Braden, a friend, as her broadcast partner, and [Chris Caray](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-caray) joined the two of them in Oakland's television booth that season.[5](https://apnews.com/article/bc1fd2ce9257e6ea87898c993a2577ef) • [12](https://apnews.com/article/dea6a778d2787ca0d51e959177d117a1)
## References
1. [Dallas Braden Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More, Baseball-Reference](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bradeda01.shtml)
2. [Dallas Braden, BR Bullpen](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Dallas_Braden)
3. [Dallas Braden Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/player/dallas-braden-460284)
4. [Perfection, FanGraphs Baseball](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/perfection-2/)
5. [Jenny Cavnar makes history as Oakland A's primary play-by-play announcer, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/bc1fd2ce9257e6ea87898c993a2577ef)
6. [H. Res. 1351 (111th Congress), congratulating Dallas Braden, govinfo.gov](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-111hres1351ih/pdf/BILLS-111hres1351ih.pdf)
7. [Dallas Braden a cult hero for Oakland Athletics, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/dallas-braden-a-cult-hero-for-oakland-athletics)
8. [Dallas Braden, 2011 Oakland Athletics Media Guide](https://library.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/publications/baseball/yearbooks/BOAKAMG-2011-oakland-athletics-media-guide.pdf)
9. [Dallas Braden, continued, 2009 Oakland A's Season In Review](https://pressbox.athletics.com/Publications/Season%20Reviews/2009%20Oakland%20A%27s%20Season%20In%20Review.pdf)
10. [May 9, 2010: Oakland's Dallas Braden retires 27 straight in perfect game on Mother's Day, SABR Games Project](https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/may-9-2010-oaklands-dallas-braden-retires-27-straight-in-perfect-game-on-mothers-day/)
11. [Perfect Dallas – Part 1, Baseball-Reference Blog](https://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/archives/5884.html)
12. [Chris Caray hired as TV broadcaster for Oakland A's games, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/dea6a778d2787ca0d51e959177d117a1)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Baseball and related bat sports › Professional baseball in the Americas › MLB players and personnel biographies › Starting pitchers › Starters debuting 2000–2015*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license