Robert Michael Bailor (born July 10, 1951 in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, United States of America) is a former right-handed utility player in Major League Baseball, best known for his speed and for being difficult to strike out. He played his high school baseball at Geibel Catholic High School in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, and attended college at University of California at Berkeley.^[1]

[edit] Playing career

Originally an infielder, Bailor was originally signed by the Baltimore Orioles in 1969 but struggled to break into the big league lineup that included Brooks Robinson, Bobby Grich, and Mark Belanger. He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1976 MLB expansion draft as their first pick and would hit the first leadoff home run in Blue Jays' history.^[2] Primarily playing outfield, he hit .310 for the club in 1977 and was named the Jays Player of the Year in his first two seasons there.

By 1980, Bailor began to struggle at the plate and became primarily a utility player. After that season, he was traded to the New York Mets, where he spent three seasons mostly coming off the bench. He was then traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Sid Fernandez. After seeing limited playing time in two seasons there, he retired.

During his career, Bailor played significant time at shortstop, second base, third base as well as all three outfield positions. He additionally appeared in ten games as a designated hitter and even in three games as a pitcher for the 1980 Toronto Blue Jays giving up two runs in two and two thirds innings. This flexibility as a position player led to Bailor's reputation as a very versatile player.^[3]

[edit] 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.^[4] Bailor later went on to manage the Syracuse Chiefs from 1988 to 1991.^[5] From 1992 until 1995, Bailor served as a coach with the Toronto Blue Jays.^[6]

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube

[edit] References