Ed Bailey
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| Ed Bailey | ||
|---|---|---|
| Catcher | ||
| Born: April 15, 1931 | ||
| Died: March 23, 2007 (aged 75) | ||
| Batted: Left | Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | ||
| September 26, 1953 for the Cincinnati Reds |
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| Final game | ||
| April 26, 1966 for the California Angels |
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| Career statistics | ||
| Batting average | .256 | |
| Home runs | 155 | |
| RBI | 540 | |
| Teams | ||
| Career highlights and awards | ||
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Lonas Edgar Bailey, Jr. (April 15, 1931 – March 23, 2007) was an American catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1953 through 1966. Bailey batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was born in Strawberry Plains, Tennessee. His younger brother, pitcher Jim Bailey, also played in the Major Leagues.
Bailey reached the Majors in 1953 with the Cincinnati Redlegs, spending nine and a half years with the Redlegs and Reds teams before moving to the San Francisco Giants (1961-63), Milwaukee Braves (1963-65), again with San Francisco (1965), and the Chicago Cubs (1965-66) and California Angels (1966). His most productive season came in 1956 with Cincinnati, when he posted career-highs in batting average (.300), home runs (28), and runs batted in (75) in 118 games played. A five-time All-Star, he also appeared in the 1962 World Series with the Giants.
In a 14-season career, Bailey was a .256 hitter (915-for-3581) with 155 home runs and 540 RBI in 1212 games, including 423 runs and a .355 on base percentage.
When his brother Jim joined the Reds in 1959, the Bailey brothers became part of a few brother-batteries in Major League history.
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[edit] 1957 All-Star ballot stuffing
In 1957, Bailey and six of his Redleg teammates—Roy McMillan, Johnny Temple, Don Hoak, Gus Bell, Wally Post and Frank Robinson—were voted into the National League All-Star starting lineup, the result of a ballot stuffing campaign by Redlegs fans. Bell remained on the team as a reserve, but Post was taken off altogether. Bell and Post were replaced as starters by Hank Aaron and Willie Mays.
[edit] On television
- In 1956 appeared as a Mystery Guest in a What's My Line? episode, along with Cincinnati teammates Gus Bell, Smoky Burgess, Ray Jablonski, Johnny Klippstein, Ted Kluszewski, Roy McMillan, Joe Nuxhall, Wally Post, Frank Robinson, and Johnny Temple.
[edit] Later life
Bailey later served on the Knoxville, Tennessee city council from 1983 to 1995. He died in Knoxville, aged 75, following a battle with throat cancer.
[edit] Highlights
- Made the National League All-Star team in 1956-57, 1960-61, and 1963.
- Hit double figures in home runs in eight of his 14 ML seasons.
- Hit three home runs in one 1956 game.
- Had eight pinch-hit homers, including two grand slams.
- Hit a two-run homer in Game 3 of the 1962 World Series.
- Collected eight RBI in a 1965 game.
- Made two unassisted double plays.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
- Baseball Library
- Retrosheet
- What's My Line? - IMDb entry
- Strawberry Plains, TN
