Ed Bailey
From BR Bullpen
Lonas Edgar Bailey Jr.
- Bats Left, Throws Right
- Height 6' 2", Weight 205 lb.
- School University of Tennessee
- Debut September 26, 1953
- Final Game April 26, 1966
- Born April 15, 1931 in Strawberry Plains, TN USA
- Died March 23, 2007 in Knoxville, TN USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Catcher Ed Bailey was the brother of pitcher Jim Bailey. They were teammates on the 1959 Reds.
Bailey was one of the top catchers of the 1950's and 1960's. He had some power and also drew a lot of walks. He was named five times to the All-Star team and appeared in the 1962 World Series. His best year was probably 1956, when he hit 28 home runs with averages of .300/.385/.551 in 118 games - although the Reds that year hit a ton of homers with Frank Robinson hitting 38, Wally Post hitting 36, Ted Kluszewski hitting 35, and Gus Bell hitting 29.
Bailey usually shared catching duties, only once getting than 400 at-bats in a season. He rarely played any position other than catcher. In spite of that he had 155 home runs in his career. With the Cincinnati Reds he was usually platooned with Smoky Burgess, while with the San Francisco Giants he was platooned with Tom Haller, which the similarity scores method sees as one of the ten most similar players to Bailey.
Bailey missed the 1951-1952 seasons due to military service.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 5-time NL All-Star (1956, 1957, 1960, 1961 & 1963)
- 20-Home Run Seasons: 3 (1956, 1957 & 1963)
