Former Hankyu Braves reliever Brad “Animal” Lesley, whose outsized personality and antics on the mound made him a fan-favorite and provided the springboard for a second career in Japanese television and later Hollywood, died on Saturday at the age of 54.
U.S. website TMZ first reported the death of the right-hander, who had suffered from kidney problems over the last several years.
Unable to view this article?
This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.
Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.
If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see this support page.
We humbly apologize for the inconvenience.
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
SUBSCRIBE NOW
PHOTO GALLERY (CLICK TO ENLARGE)
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.