Bob Bailor
| Bob Bailor | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Outfielder / Infielder | |||
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Born: July 10, 1951 Connellsville, Pennsylvania |
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 6, 1975, for the Baltimore Orioles | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| October 6, 1985, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .264 | ||
| Home runs | 9 | ||
| Runs batted in | 222 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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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.
Bailor was born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, the fifth of Robert and Agnes Bailor's six 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 and limestone, and Agnes was a stay-at-home mom.
In August 1963, Connellsville won the Pennsylvania state Little League title. 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 National Football League with the Buffalo Bills. It was through the American Legion that Bailor caught the eye of Baltimore Orioles scout Jocko Collins.
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. In 1972, he led the Class A California League with 63 stolen bases. Eventually, he began playing more and more shortstop by the time he debuted with the Baltimore Orioles in September 1975.
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