NEWS

RoY Bailey Recalls NECBL Roots

By Don Leypoldt

With the benefit of hindsight, we can good-naturedly kid Oakland A’s closer Andrew Bailey on his youthful naiveté. 

Bailey, then a sophomore pitcher at Wagner via his hometown of Haddon Heights, NJ had just completed his first pre-season throwing session for the 2004 Mill City All-Americans.  (Mill City changed its name to Lowell in 2006.)

“I remember calling my parents after my first bullpen and saying ‘I don’t know if I’m going to even make the team!’  I was up there as a favor for my college coach and as a tryout type thing,” recalls Bailey.

As stiff as the competition is in the NECBL- and the competition is excellent- all 12 teams would now gladly find a spot for Bailey if they could.  The 2009 All-Star and American League Rookie of the Year posted a 1.84 ERA and 26 saves for Oakland last season; he converted his last 21 save opportunities. 

But the dominant fireman of 2010 was an insecure sophomore in 2004.  Until just after that bullpen session.  “I ended up being one of the starters so that was pretty cool,” Bailey finished.

He did more than become “one of the starters.”  The affable Bailey, who could also close for Major League Baseball’s All-Friendly Guy Team, ended up leading the NECBL in starts (9), strikeouts (79) and innings pitched during the summer of ’04.  He held hitters to a .188 average against and tossed a shutout inning at the League All-Star game in Montpelier.

Bailey’s summer in the NECBL marked the end of his pitching in anonymity.  “That was the summer that I realized that maybe I had a shot of getting drafted or even making it to the minor leagues,” he believes.

“I learned a lot that summer about the game of baseball itself.  I learned how to pitch inside.  That summer was probably the transition point of my career, to where I learned how to get ahead of guys, how to pitch against wood bats and get that feeling of acceptance that I do belong.”

The summer at Mill City helped Bailey to grow outside of the foul lines as well.  He attended college close to home and for the first time had to wrestle with being far from the familiar.  He explains, “Growing up in a small town in South Jersey, everything was right there for me: American Legion ball, Little League and high school.  Going to college on Staten Island and being an hour away from home helped me a lot in terms of family.  But as far as baseball, that was definitely the summer that for the first time I was really ‘away’ in terms of long bus trips.

“Bus trip, home game, bus trip, home game.  That was definitely a fun summer.  I still keep in touch with a lot of the guys from the Mill City team and some of them are good friends.  That was one of the greatest summers of my life, getting to have that experience of playing baseball for the entire summer.  Taking that into my junior year of college was a big step.”

The 6’3” righty started his summer in Mill City not knowing if he would make the team and left Lowell as a bona fide prospect.  Despite having Tommy John surgery in May 2005, the Milwaukee Brewers selected him one month later in the 16th round.

Bailey returned for Wagner during his senior year, earning his Business Administration degree in the process.  The Seahawks put him in the bullpen and then eased him into a starting role.  His first start came on a cold, raw April day at Central Connecticut.  When the dozen scouts in attendance saw Bailey consistently hit 92-93 on the radar gun- that soon after surgery and in that weather- his prospect status was elevated.  The A’s drafted Bailey in the sixth round.

While a starter at Mill City, Wagner and even through his first three years in the Minors, Bailey switched to reliever- a change for the better.

“It was pretty easy for me and my mentality suited that,” commented Bailey on the transition.  “When I got drafted they said ‘We like your attitude on the mound.  We’re going to try you out as a starter and we can always put you in the pen if needed.’  When I was struggling at double-A they said, ‘We’re going to try you in the bullpen.’  And I was all for it.  I love that high adrenaline type inning or appearance.”

Bailey had started since Little League but his attitude remains “anything to get here (the Majors) and stay here, I’ll do it- whatever role it is,” he emphasized.  “The hardest thing for me off the bat was getting ready for the game.  As a starter, you’re used to throwing 30 or 40 pitches in the bullpen but as a reliever, when they say ‘Get Loose’, you’re only throwing 10 or 12.

“The bullpen guys have been a great help in my career so far,” Bailey mentioned, singling out his fellow relievers’ assistance in getting him properly warmed up and prepared for games.  “Especially in the Big Leagues.  I’ll ask them what guys are looking for in certain situations.”

So now that he is not just in The Show but a rising star, what advice would Bailey offer?  “What would I tell the NECBL guys?” he mulled it over before enthusiastically answering:

“What was that movie- Summer Catch- about the Cape Cod League?  I remember watching that and thinking ‘I want to play in one of those summer leagues.’  Being at a small college, you may not have that opportunity.  But wherever you are, they’ll find you.  Throw strikes, pound the zone and enjoy the summer because you don’t know how long you’re going to have the uniform on.

“The NECBL was great for my career and my advancement.  For the guys going there, take advantage of opportunities.  That is what I did that summer and forward into my professional career- taking advantage of every opportunity because you never know who is watching or what that next step in your career is going to be.  Learn from your experience over the summer and build on that.  That summer gave me the confidence that propelled me to be able to be drafted and get into the A’s system.”

Don Leypoldt is a Philadelphia-based sportswriter who spent five years working for the Manchester Silkworms.  He still misses them.