News
Bailey may cap fine debut with AL ROY
Flamethrower sets Athletics rookie record with 26 saves
By Mychael Urban / MLB.com
11/09/09 7:11 PM EST
OAKLAND -- Less than a month after his whirlwind of a first season in the big leagues came to an end, A's right-hander Andrew Bailey was back in the gym, "getting after it" with fellow Oakland reliever Craig Breslow.
Working out four times per week at a baseball facility roughly 20 minutes from the offseason apartment he shares with his fiancée, Amanda, in Hamden, Conn., Bailey hasn't yet spent any time throwing a baseball -- he won't crank his money-maker back up before mid-December.
He hasn't spent much time thinking about his chances of being named the American League's Rookie of the Year, either.
"If it happens, it happens," Bailey, 25, told MLB.com by phone. "But I don't have any control over that kind of stuff. I'm pretty busy planning our wedding and working out, so that takes up most of my time."
Bailey, whose nuptials are scheduled for next November, is one of the front-runners in the AL ROY race, the winner of which will be announced Nov. 16.
Having enjoyed a remarkable ascent from struggling Minor League starter (June 2008) to All-Star closer (July 2009), Bailey finished his stunning season with 26 saves, an Oakland rookie record, a 1.84 ERA with a 0.88 WHIP over 68 appearances and 91 strikeouts against 24 walks in 83 1/3 innings.
A's manager Bob Geren lobbied hard on Bailey's behalf whenever talk turned to the ROY Award late in the season, often bringing up the topic himself, but shortstop Elvis Andrus of the Rangers appears to be the favorite at this point.
A's teammate Brett Anderson, a lefty starter, infielder Gordon Beckham of the White Sox, catcher Matt Wieters of the Orioles and righty starters Rick Porcello of the Tigers and Jeff Neimann of the Rays also are among the candidates.
"There were a lot of good rookies in the league this year," Bailey said. "But to be mentioned as one of them is pretty cool."
In the event that Bailey upsets Andrus, a 21-year-old acrobat who emerged as one of the best defensive shortstops in the league and posted a .267 batting average with six homers, 40 RBIs and 33 stolen bases, he'll travel to the Bay Area for a formal press conference and related media appearances.
"The A's told me they want to fly me out for a couple of days," Bailey said. "It'd be crazy."
In the meantime, he'll continue to work on getting his body ready for another long season. He pitched in the Arizona Fall League last year, so there wasn't much of a break between the end of his 2008 season at Double-A Midland and the start of his first big league Spring Training in med-February.
"It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be," Bailey said of the grind. "I held up pretty good. It wasn't easy, though, especially being my first year relieving and having to be ready to throw every day instead of every four or five [as a starter]. There were a lot of ups and downs; kind of a roller coaster with how my arm felt day-to-day.
"But I was pretty lucky. On the bad days, when my arm didn't feel good, it seemed like those were the days I didn't have to get out there."
Bailey, who grew up in Haddon Heights, N.J., about 15 minutes from Philadelphia, grew up a Phillies fan and watched the 2009 World Series with great interest, but he watched it from a completely different perspective than he had in the past.
"Now that I've pitched against some of the guys playing and know some of them, I don't look at it the same," he explained. "I was a little bummed [when the Phillies lost to the Yankees], but it's not like it was when I was in high school, when it's life and death to you."
That's essentially the same attitude he has on the ROY race.
"Obviously it'd be awesome to win it," he said. "But I'm not going to be [staring at] my phone that day. ... My phone's always next to me, though, so I'll find out when I find out, and I'll be happy for whoever wins."
Mychael Urban is a national writer for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
