Guess who showed up early to Cubs camp? Did you guess Milton Bradley?

MESA, Ariz. - Milton Bradley put in the extra effort Sunday, showing up for batting practice a day before his report date to the Cubs spring training camp.

Bradley, 30, signed a three-year, $30 million contract on Jan. 8. He wasn't due in camp until Monday's position players report date. The first full-squad workout is Tuesday, although the right fielder and a handful of his new teammates took batting practice Sunday.

Bradley appeared wary of reporters but was friendly afterward, and he made his case for why things might be different this time than with his previous clubs, Montreal, Cleveland, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland, San Diego and Texas.

"It's a new beginning," Bradley said. "It's a home, finally."

And, he said, he'll talk with reporters, "until your tape recorder runs out."

"But you go back five years, harp on what I've done wrong," Bradley said. "I know what I've done wrong. I'm trying to do things right."

Bradley is a career .280 hitter who had a career-high 22 homers in 2008 with Texas, where he was the designated hitter and the American League's all-star DH. He was coming off a tumultuous 2007 season in San Diego that ended with him tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee when he was pulled away from an umpire by Padres manager Bud Black.

Cubs manager Lou Piniella said Bradley likely will hit fourth or fifth in the order, and likes Bradley's switch hitter status.

"He looks good," Piniella said. "He really does. We're going to have some switch hitters here in camp, which I like."