Bob Bailor

Bob Bailor
Utility player
Born: (1951-07-10) July 10, 1951 Connellsville, Pennsylvania
Batted: Right Threw: Right
debut
September 6, 1975, for the Baltimore Orioles
Last appearance
October 6, 1985, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Career statistics
Batting average	.264
Hits	775
Runs batted in	222
Teams
Baltimore Orioles (1975–1976) Toronto Blue Jays (1977–1980) New York Mets (1981–1983) Los Angeles Dodgers (1984–1985)
Career highlights and awards
Topps Rookie All-Star (1977) 2× World Series champion (1992, 1993)

Robert Michael Bailor (born July 10, 1951) is a former Major League Baseball player best known for being the first player selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1976 Major League Baseball expansion draft.

Early years

Bailor was born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, and was the oldest of Robert & Agnes Bailor's four children. His family name was "Bialkowski" when they first arrived in the United States of America from Poland. Robert was an engineer for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, hauling coal, iron ore & limestone, and Agnes was a stay at home Mom.

In August 1963, Connellsville won the Pennsylvania state Little League title. Bailor scored the game’s only run in the final game of the series with Levittown. He did not play high school ball as neither Connellsville High School nor Geibel Catholic High School (the school he attended) had a baseball team. He did, however, play basketball in high school, and set the team record for most points in a game.

Bailor played baseball with the Connellsville American Legion team. Among his teammates were future Seattle Mariners pitcher Bob Galasso and first baseman Jim Braxton, who went on to have an eight year career in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills. It was through the American Legion that Bailor caught the eye of Baltimore Orioles scout Jocko Collins.

Baltimore Orioles

Bailor signed with the Orioles upon graduation from Geibel Catholic in 1969. He was immediately a utility player, playing the outfield, second base, third base, shortstop and even pitching for one game in his first professional season with the Bluefield Orioles. In 1971 with the Aberdeen Pheasants, Bailor led the Class A Northern League with a .340 batting average. Eventually, he began playing more and more shortstop by the time he debuted with the Baltimore Orioles in September 1975.

He started both games of a September 28 doubleheader with the New York Yankees, one at short and the other at second, and collected his first major league hit off Larry Gura in the second game. He returned to the triple A Rochester Red Wings in 1976, and again received a call up to the majors that September. In total, Bailor batted .288 with twelve home runs and 201 runs batted in over seven seasons in the Orioles' farm system. He was three-for-thirteen with no home runs or RBIs with Baltimore.

Toronto Blue Jays

After the Seattle Mariners selected Rupert Jones from the Kansas City Royals with the first overall pick in the expansion draft, the Toronto Blue Jays made Bailor the second overall pick. Despite the fact that he did not have an everyday position, Bailor appeared in 122 games, and logged 523 plate appearances his rookie season in Toronto. His .310 batting average is an expansion team record.

He was named Blue Jays Player of the Year in 1977 and 1978.

In 1978, Bailor spent most of his time playing right field, however, he did see some action at third base. In 154 games, Bailor hit .264 with 1 HR and 52 RBI, while collecting 29 doubles and striking out only 21 times in 621 at-bats. For the second straight season, Bailor was named Blue Jays Player of the Year.

Bailor saw his batting average decline in 1979, hitting only .229 with 1 HR and 38 RBI in 130 games with the Blue Jays.

In 1980, Bailor continued to struggle with his offense, hitting .236 with 1 HR and 16 RBI in 117 games. He did appear in three games as a relief pitcher for the Blue Jays, allowing two earned runs in 2.1 innings pitched. On December 12, the Blue Jays traded Bailor to the New York Mets for Roy Lee Jackson.

New York Mets

In 1981, Bailor played in 51 games with the New York Mets, hitting .284 with 0 HR and 8 RBI in 81 at-bats.

Bailor saw his playing time increase during the 1982 season, as he played in 110 games, hitting .277 with 0 HR and 31 RBI, as well as stealing 20 bases for the Mets. Bailor led the National League with an 87% stolen base percentage.

In 1983, Bailor appeared in 118 games, his highest total since 1979, hitting .250 with 1 HR and 30 RBI, and swiping 18 bases. On December 8, the Mets traded Bailor and Carlos Diaz to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Sid Fernandez and Ross Jones.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Bailor had his playing time decrease in his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1984, as he hit .275 with 0 HR and 8 RBI in 65 games with the Dodgers.

In 1985, Bailor hit .246 with 0 HR and 7 RBI in 74 games with Los Angeles, helping the team reach the post-season. In the 1985 NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals, Bailor got into two games, going hitless in one at-bat, as the Dodgers lost to the Cardinals. On April 2, 1986, the Dodgers released Bailor.

Career stats

Bailor appeared in 11 seasons during his Major League Baseball career, playing in 955 games, 523 of them with the Toronto Blue Jays. Overall, he had 775 hits, batting .264 with 9 HR and 222 RBI, while stealing 90 bases. In two playoff games with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Bailor had one at-bat, going hitless.

Management

After his playing career, Bailor went on to manage teams at the minor league level. The Toronto Blue Jays organization hired him in 1987 to manage the Dunedin Blue Jays. Bailor later went on to manage the Syracuse Chiefs from 1988 to 1991. From 1992 until 1995, Bailor served as a coach with the Toronto Blue Jays.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or The Baseball Page