Brad Ziegler is a relief pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He just finished his 4th season in the big leagues and has compiled a 2.43 career ERA with 19 saves. After spending the first 3 and one-half years of his MLB career with the Oakland A's, he was traded to the D-backs at the trading deadline in mid-season, 2011.

Brad was called up to the Major Leagues by the A's on May 30, 2008, and made his MLB debut the following day against the Texas Rangers. He broke into the majors in remarkable fashion, beginning his career with 39 consecutive scoreless innings, shattering the 101-year-old previous record of 25 innings held by George McQuillan. Brad's 39-inning scoreless streak also tied the single-season MLB record for consecutive scoreless innings by a relief pitcher (at any point in a career).

An All-American pitcher at Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State), Brad still holds school records for career wins and strikeouts, as well as single-season records for wins and strikeouts. While in college, Brad played two summers in the prestigious Cape Cod League and was named a Cape All-Star in 2002. Brad still holds the Cape League record for consecutive innings without a walk.

Brad was drafted by the Oakland A's in 2002, but opted to return to college for his senior season and helped lead the Bears to the 2003 College World Series. The Philadelphia Phillies drafted Brad in the 20th round in 2003. Brad pitched for the Phillies through Spring Training in 2004 before being released. He next went on to pitch for the Schaumburg (Illinois) Flyers for two months in the independent Northern League. By June of 2004 Brad was back in affiliated ball after signing a minor league free agent contract with the A's.

Brad enjoyed a successful minor league career on his way to "The Show," going 44-20 with a 3.75 ERA over 4 seasons, primarily as a starter. However, his road to the show was not typical or without incident. While pitching a playoff game for the A's High-A affiliate, he was hit in the head by a line drive and suffered a fractured skull that put him in intensive care for six days! Later in his career, he was again hit in the head by a tipped throw and suffered yet another skull fracture. Fortunately this one was much less severe, and he was able to rebound to pitch again the same spring. After being a successful starter through college and leading the AA Texas league in strikeouts, Brad was approached by the A's organization about converting to a sidearm delivery and becoming a reliever. He successfully converted to a submarine-style reliever before the 2007 season. After just one season in his new role, he posted an ERA under 0.37 for AAA Sacramento in two months of work before the A's called him up. After his remarkable MLB debut in 2008, the fact Brad survived two skull fractures was well-documented. In fact, Baseball Hall-of-Fame journalist Peter Gammons named Ziegler the #2 MLB Story of that season stating...

"[Ziegler] set a record by starting his Major League career with 39 scoreless innings and finished the season with a 1.06 ERA. Remember, he did this at the age of 28, after being released by the Phillies, going the Independent League route... and, on September 15, 2004 getting hit in the forehead by a line drive in the California League playoffs. He suffered a skull fracture and concussion, then doctors learned fluid had started to build up on his brain and he spent six days in intensive care. This past winter he got hit by a throw while working out at Missouri State and suffered yet another fractured skull! Ryan Howard's college [teammate] is a profile in courage." (Peter Gammons, ESPN)

Prior to his pro and college career, Brad was a standout at Odessa (Missouri) High School as both a pitcher and infielder.

Brad Gregory Ziegler was born in Pratt, Kansas, on October 10, 1979, to Greg and Lisa Ziegler. His current off-season home is Springfield, Missouri. On 11/11/11, he married a beautiful young woman named Kristen Gritzer. He has a daughter, Kaylin, and also has a younger sister, Melissa, who is married with 2 children. He is also a devoted Christian, and feels extremely blessed that he has the opportunity to use this platform as a way to give back to our service members and their families who sacrifice so much for our country.