 |
Former Slugger Bob Bailey Speaks Softly These Days
By Todd Newville
|
|
Former Slugger Bob Bailey Speaks Softly These Days
By Todd Newville
|
But, during his career, some said he wasn’t a very good fielder at third base. Bailey was nicknamed "Beetle" and one smart-aleck opponent reportedly once said, "They called him 'Beetle' after the comic strip character. He fielded like a comic strip character."
Sure, Bailey was never as good as, say, Brooks Robinson with his mitt. But, keep in mind that Bailey played most of his career before the designated hitter rule came into effect in the American League in 1973. In order to keep a job in the majors for as long as Bailey did, he had to be doing something right in the field. Well, didn’t he?
“My fielding ability was adequate at best in the big leagues,” admits Bailey, who was a 6-foot-1, 188-pound slugger during his prime. “I think that I had God-given talent and a desire to play baseball. That’s what enabled me to play in the majors.”
While Bailey’s comment would seem to indicate that even he wasn’t very sure about his fielding abilities at the hot corner, he wasn’t quite the slouch that some contemporaries pegged him to be.
“I led the league in double plays because I had Bill Mazeroski turning double plays for me,” Bailey said. “That really helped. One year, I had an exceptional year fielding and there was no question about it, but I was adequate at best in the field.”
Bailey (who also played a bit in the outfield and at first base) is not one to mince words. He’s honest and enjoys answering just about any question thrown his way - albeit short and succinctly. Even if he remains unimpressed with his leather abilities at third, his overall record indicates he was a quality major leaguer for quite some time.
Don’t let the skeptics (or Bailey) fool you; his glove wasn’t too shabby. Certainly, his bat was his biggest attribute, though.
Bailey (now 64) was born in Long Beach, Calif. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Wilson High School in 1961 for what was believed to be a then-record signing bonus of $150,000. Because of the hefty sum, much was expected from Bailey. He tried not to let lofty expectations affect his play.
In 75 games with Asheville (N.C.) of the Class A South Atlantic League in ‘61, Bailey hit just .220 with nine home runs, 31 RBI and 27 errors in his pro debut. But, in 1962, he started to fulfill some of the promise which warranted his bonus-baby status - hitting .299 with 28 homers, 109 runs scored and a league-leading 108 RBI for the Columbus (Ohio) Jets of the International League.
He was named The Sporting News’ Minor League Player of the Year for ’62 and earned a late-season promotion to the Pirates. He hit just .167 in 14 games that September. But, considering that he was just 19 years old, Bailey’s debut was far from a disappointment. After all, he was the third-youngest player in the National League that year - behind first baseman Ed Kranepool of the New York Mets and pitcher Joe Moeller of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In ‘63, Bailey established himself as the regular third baseman for Pittsburgh. That year, he hit .228 with 12 homers and 45 RBI. Bailey’s fielding percentage was just .933 as he made 32 errors in 153 games. But, that was also the year he led the Senior Circuit’s third sackers with 38 double plays.
In 1965, he hit .256 with 11 homers and 49 RBI in 159 contests. His 28 doubles were second on the club behind Donn Clendenon’s total of 32. Bailey’s 87 runs scored ranked third on the team behind Roberto Clemente (91) and Clendenon (89) while his 160 hits stacked up third behind Clemente’s 194 safeties and Clendenon’s 184. Only Clendenon played in more games (162) than Bailey’s total of 159, and Bailey led the Bucs in at-bats with 626.
Bailey had some memorable moments in a Pirates uniform. On April 12, 1965, at Forbes Field, he hit a solo homer in the bottom of the 10th inning on Opening Day to beat the Giants’ Juan Marichal 1-0. Marichal struck out nine and allowed just five hits (two by Bailey) that day. But, the victory went to Pittsburgh’s Bob Veale, who threw an equally impressive ballgame with 10 whiffs and just three hits allowed.
There was also the time in 1966 when Bailey contributed immensely to a Pirate power display. On Aug. 12 that year, Pittsburgh beat the Reds 14-11 in 13 innings at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field. A total of 11 homers were hit in the game. Art Shamsky of the Reds hit three of them while Bailey contributed two for the Bucs. Pete Rose and Deron Johnson also connected for the Reds while Clemente, Willie Stargell, Jerry Lynch and Jesse Gonder went deep for the Pirates.
“On Opening Day in 1965, I hit a homer off Juan Marichal of the Giants to win the game in extra innings,” Bailey remembered. “That was a thrill. Then, there was the game where 11 home runs were hit. We won that game 14-11 and I hit a couple of home runs. I’ll always remember that game.”
In 1966, Bailey hit the ball at a .279 clip with 13 homers, 46 ribbies, and 51 runs scored. In the field, Bailey had a respectable .956 fielding percentage with just 12 errors while turning 20 double plays for Pittsburgh. Then, after the season, he was traded to the Dodgers along with infielder Gene Michael for record-setting speedster and 1962 National League MVP Maury Wills on Dec. 1.
Wills (who stole 104 bases in ‘62 to set the then-major league record) did fine with the Pirates in ‘67, finishing in the top 10 among NL batting leaders with a .302 average. Bailey, though, struggled with the Dodgers. He hit just .227 in each season he played in Los Angeles.
For 1969, the National League expanded to 12 teams with six teams in two divisions. The San Diego Padres were added to the NL West while the Expos were added to the NL East. On Oct. 21, 1968, Montreal purchased Bailey from the Dodgers.
Thus, Bailey became a charter member of the Expos at age 26. And, in 1969, Bailey hit .265 with nine homers and 53 RBI for Montreal - mostly at first base. On June 25 that season, he and shortstop Bobby Wine executed the first triple play in Expos history during an 8-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Montreal’s Jarry Park. With men on first and second, Vada Pinson lined out to Bailey at first base. Bailey quickly stepped on first for the second out, then fired the ball over to Wine covering second, who was able to tag the base before the runner could make it back for the third out.
Bailey had a really nice year in 1970 - perhaps the best of his career. On May 18, he hit a dramatic, game-winning, pinch-hit grand slam home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat pitcher Cal Koonce and the New York Mets 8-4. In a span of 86 at-bats that summer during June and July, he sizzled with a .453 average and 13 homers. From June 22 through July 12, Bailey had at least one extra-base hit in 11 straight games which included seven doubles and seven homers.
Bailey finished that ‘70 campaign with a .287 batting average along with a career-high 28 home runs, 84 ribbies, a .407 on-base percentage, and a .597 slugging percentage. Bailey was second on the team in round-trippers and ribbies. Rusty Staub led Montreal with 30 homers and 94 RBI that year.
In 1971, Bailey hit .251 with 14 homers and 83 RBI. His 97 walks tied Dick Dietz of the San Francisco Giants for second in the National League. Only the Giants’ Willie Mays, who walked 112 times, ranked ahead of Bailey in that department. Bailey was third on the circuit with nine sacrifice flies; Willie Montanez of Philadelphia led the way with 12 sac flies while Al Oliver of Pittsburgh and Ted Simmons of St. Louis tied for second with 10 each. Bailey also led NL third basemen with a .960 fielding percentage.
In 1972, Bailey hit .233 with 16 homers and 57 RBI. In ‘73, he hit .273 with 26 homers and 86 ribbies. His 88 bases on balls that year ranked seventh in the NL. Darrell Evans (124) of the Atlanta Braves led the way while Ken Singleton (123) of the Expos, Joe Morgan (111) of the Cincinnati Reds, Willie McCovey (105) of the Giants, Rick Monday (92) of the Chicago Cubs, and Jim Wynn (91) of the Houston Astros also ranked ahead of Bailey in walks in ’73.
In 1975, Bailey landed on the disabled list for a few weeks but still managed to hit .273 in 106 games. After the season, Montreal traded him on Dec. 12 to Cincinnati for pitcher Clay Kirby. In ’76, Bailey hit .298 in 69 games for Cincy. In ’77, he hit .253 in 49 contests for the Reds before they dealt him to the Boston Red Sox on Sept. 19 for minor league pitcher Frank Newcomer.
Bailey only got a couple of at-bats with the Bosox that year before the season ended. In ’78, he ended his major league career by hitting .191 in 43 games with Boston - mostly as a part-time designated hitter.
Besides his fielding, Bailey also got a bad rap at times for his lack of speed. For sure, he was no Lou Brock and he did tend to ground into a lot of double plays during his career - 195 to be exact. On five occasions, he ranked among the top 10 National League hitters in GIDPs.
But, he stole 85 bases during his career and got caught stealing 83 times; obviously, he was successful more often than not in swiping the extra base. In fact, he stole 10 bases in a season three times while with the Bucs - leading the Pirates in that department in ‘65. And, in 1971 with Montreal, he had a career-high 13 stolen bases to lead that club in base path larceny.
When Bailey was traded from the Expos to the Reds in ‘75, he ranked No. 1 atop many career offensive categories for Montreal. He still ranks among the top 15 in several departments: No. 4 in walks (502), No. 5 in home runs (118), No. 6 in on-base percentage (.368), No. 7 in strikeouts (607), No. 8 in runs batted in (466), No. 9 in games played (951), No. 11 in at-bats (2,991) and total plate appearances (3,548), No. 12 in runs scored (412), total bases (1,307) and hits (791), and No. 13 in slugging percentage (.437) and extra-base hits (257).
For his superlative accomplishments with a bat while in an Expos uniform, Bailey was inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame in 2004. As one of the original Expos, it was very tough for Bailey to watch Montreal lose its team. The Expos moved to the nation’s capital to become the Washington Nationals in 2005.
When Bailey made his debut with the Pirates, Mazeroski was right there to help the rookie get acclimated to big league life. Mazeroski was a Hall of Fame second baseman who played 17 seasons for Pittsburgh, where he won two World Series, seven All-Star berths, and eight Gold Gloves.
“I was just 19 when I played my first game with the Pirates,” Bailey said. “I was scared to death, really. But, the guy who took me under his wing and really helped me out was Bill Mazeroski. He showed me around and stayed with me. He was a great guy and a great player. I really admired his professionalism.”
Roberto Clemente (who died in a plane crash on Dec. 31, 1972) won the 1966 National League MVP and hit .317 in his 18 seasons with Pittsburgh. He also won 12 Gold Gloves in the outfield as he was one of the best all-around performers and teammates that Bailey had the opportunity to play with.
Of course, there’s also Hank Aaron and Willie Mays - two opponents who would give any opposing team a tremendous headache. Between the two of the them, Aaron and Mays hit a combined 1,415 home runs - Aaron with 755 and Mays with 660. Together, they also had a combined 7,054 hits - Aaron with 3,771 and Mays with 3,283.
“The talent that Clemente had was great,” Bailey said. “The discipline that Staub had was impressive. I always thought Hank Aaron was great. Willie Mays was the best player of all time, I think, because of all the things he could do. But, Clemente wasn’t far behind him. He had the best arm I ever saw. He could throw the ball on a line from the base of the outfield wall in right to home plate. He made it look so easy. He was a tremendous player.”
Drysdale won 209 games in 14 years with the Dodgers while also leading the NL in strikeouts three times and winning a Cy Young Award in 1962. Niekro (one of the greatest knuckleball artists) won 318 games in 24 seasons mostly with the Atlanta Braves. He struck out 3,342 hitters and had a 3.35 career ERA.
A couple of other pitchers (Bill Hands and Rick Reuschel of the Cubs) were tough for Bailey to solve. Hands (who was 20-14 with a 2.49 ERA for Chicago in 1969) held Bailey to a .243 average (9-for-37) while Reuschel (who was 20-10 with a 2.79 ERA with the Cubs in ‘77) was even better - holding Bailey to a .200 (6-for30) mark.
“Bill Hands was pretty tough,” Bailey said, “and so was Rick Reuschel. I never felt like I could hit them very well. Some guys are just tough to hit no matter who they are. They were good pitchers as far as I was concerned.”
Bailey managed in the Expos farm system for a time. He guided Calgary of the Pioneer League in 1979, then was skipper for West Palm Beach in the Florida State League in 1980-81. He also was Montreal’s minor league hitting instructor later on.
Today, Bailey lives in sunny Las Vegas with his wife Karen. They’ve been married for 45 years; together, they have three children and 11 grandchildren. Bailey works for Fairfield Resorts dealing in “vacation ownership” and selling time shares.
“I think everybody who plays baseball thinks that they could have done better at some point, but you just do the best that you can and let the chips fall where they may. I really don’t have any disappointments about my days in the big leagues. I was very satisfied and happy with my baseball career.”
Lesser players would love to have over 1,500 major league hits and nearly 2,000 games to their credit - plus a World Series ring. If that’s good enough for Bailey, it ought to be good enough for everybody else.
Don’t you think?
There was no doubt that Bailey was an impressive hitter. Bailey (who played in the big leagues for 17 years with five different teams) had a good eye and made contact with the ball - often with power.
Bob Bailey sits at the breakfast table with his dad Paul "Buck" Bailey the morning after he signed his first professional contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates for a nice $150,000 signing bonus in 1961.
Bob Bailey (as he appeared with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1963)After all, how bad can a guy be at third base when he leads the National League in double plays one season - and in fielding percentage during another? “At 18 years old,” Bailey explained, “you’re pretty much oblivious to anything that’s going on around you. While I did feel some pressure, it wasn’t overwhelming. When I signed with Pittsburgh in 1961, that was certainly a lot of money back then. But, I don’t think I put any extra pressure on myself to make it to the big leagues. I just did the best that I could.”
Bob Bailey reaches for the sky to snare a line drive at third base.
Bob Bailey played his first five major league seasons in a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform.His best year at the plate for the Pirates might have been in 1964. That year, Bailey hit a solid .281 with 11 home runs and 51 RBI. He also scored 73 runs and banged out 26 doubles among his 149 hits. Bailey ranked second on the team in runs scored and in doubles, third in hits, fourth in homers and fifth in ribbies. For Lynch, his homer was noteworthy because it was his 18th career pinch-hit home run, which set a then-major league record. The game set a National League record for most home runs hit by both clubs in a single contest. It also was the most home runs clubbed by both clubs in an extra-inning affair.
Bob Bailey was traded to the Dodgers from the Pirates in December 1966.
Bob Bailey with the LA Dodgers.“I was happy to go to the Dodgers because that’s where I was from,” Bailey said. “But, it was sad to leave Pittsburgh because I had some success with the Pirates and I had made some friends there. I didn’t play very well with the Dodgers, though, and I ended up going to the Montreal Expos.” With that burst, he earned the starting third base job for the second half of that season. On Aug. 16, he hit one of the longest home runs in the history of Houston’s Astrodome. In a 5-3 win over the Astros, Bailey became the first player ever to hit a ball into the dome’s upper deck. The feat was memorialized by a little black beetle painted onto the seat where the ball landed.
Bob Bailey (as he appeared on his 1968 Topps baseball card)
1969 Montreal ExposIn 1974, Bailey hit .280 with 20 homers and 73 RBI. His .396 on-base percentage ranked third in the Senior Circuit behind only Morgan’s .427 mark and former Pittsburgh teammate Willie Stargell’s .407 percentage. Bailey also ranked fifth in walks with 100 - behind only Evans (126), Morgan (120), Wynn (108), Pete Rose (106), and Mike Schmidt (106). For his career, Bailey hit .257 with 189 home runs, 773 RBI, 772 runs scored, 234 doubles, 852 walks, 1,126 strikeouts, and 1,564 hits in 1,931 big league games. Oddly enough, Bailey never played in an All-Star game.
Bob Bailey (as he appeared on his 1970 Topps baseball card)
Bob Bailey (as he appeared on his 1971 Topps baseball card)Gene Mauch was Bailey’s manager in Montreal. Mauch (who died in 2005) had a career managerial record of 1,901 wins and 2,037 losses. He helped mold the Expos into a respectable club during the team’s formative years. Mauch (maybe the best manager never to lead a team to the World Series) also managed the Phillies, Twins, and Angels during his 26-year career. “Playing in Montreal was the best time of my life,” said Bailey, who connected for six career grand slam homers - two while he was with Pittsburgh and four while he was with Montreal. “Gene Mauch was there and he really helped me become a good player. I always had fond memories of my time in an Expos uniform. I was very sad to see the Expos leave for Washington. That was very hard for me.”
Bob Bailey (as he appeared on his 1972 Topps baseball card)
Former major leaguer Bob Bailey ranks among the top 15 in several career batting categories for the Montreal Expos.Another was Staub, nicknamed “Le Grande Orange” by Montreal faithful for his red hair. He was an All-Star each of his three years in an Expos uniform from 1969-71. He played a total of 23 seasons with the Expos, Astros, Mets, Tigers, and Rangers - hitting .279 with 292 homers and 1,466 RBI in his career. Some of the best pitchers Bailey played with and against included Gaylord Perry, Don Drysdale and Phil Niekro. All three are enshrined in the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, N.Y. Perry won 314 games in 22 seasons with eight teams and struck out 3,534 batters. He also won two Cy Young Awards - one in each league with Cleveland in 1972 and another with San Diego in 1978.
Bob Bailey (as he appeared on his 1973 Topps baseball card)
Bob Bailey (as he appeared on his 1974 Topps baseball card)“I don’t know why, but I always seemed to hit Phil Niekro pretty well,“ said Bailey, who hit .348 (23-for-66) with five homers in his career against Niekro. “I still thought he was a tough pitcher, though. I certainly had a lot of trouble with Gaylord Perry and so did a lot of guys. He was the toughest. And, the toughness of Drysdale was something that I always admired when I was with the Dodgers.” When Bailey was with the Reds, he earned a World Series ring when Cincy beat the New York Yankees in the 1976 Fall Classic. He didn’t play in the series, but Bailey said, “The whole Big Red Machine was the most talented team in the history of baseball. It was the best team I was ever associated with.”
Bob Bailey (as he appeared on his 1975 Topps baseball card)
Bob Bailey (as he appeared on his 1964 Topps Giant baseball card)“Again, I just think I had a God-given talent and a desire to play the game to the best of my abilities,” said Bailey, who was renowned for his hustle. “I think I had a fast bat and I just learned how to adjust to major league pitching. I think I always tried to do the best that I could. I took pride in that and I just loved to play. I tried to be the best player that I could be.
