He wasn't the best foreigner to ever play in Japanese baseball, but Brad "The Animal" Lesley was surely one of the most colorful and unforgettable characters to ever put on the uniform of a Central or Pacific League team.
The news of his death at age 54 on April 28 in California has brought back memories of his two-year career as a relief pitcher with the Hankyu Braves in 1986-87.
He was flamboyant and displayed a fiery personality on the field but, away from the ballpark, he was polite, soft-spoken and as "normal" as anyone can be.