Former Phillies Pitcher, South Jersey Native Bailey Retires

South Jersey's own Andrew Bailey fulfilled a childhood dream in 2016 playing for the Philadelphia Phillies.  The Vorhees, New Jersey native played baseball at Paul VI in Haddonfield and was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 2006 after playing at Wagner College.  Bailey made his major league debut in 2009 with the Oakland Athletics and took the league by storm, winning the American League Rookie of the Year.

But injuries hampered Bailey's progress frequently, including a season-ending injury in August of 2017 while playing with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.   That has led the 33 year-old Bailey to announce his retirement from baseball.

Bailey posted the news to his Instagram account:

Thank you to the A’s, Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies and Angels organizations for believing in me, allowing me the opportunity to play the game and realizing my childhood dream. Thank you to all of my incredible teammates along the way who helped me and inspired me. Thank you to the coaches and coordinators who pushed me and taught me the game. Thank you to the countless athletic trainers, PT’s, strength coaches, surgeons and therapists who helped me through a long list of injuries. Thank you to the fans for always cheering and demanding the best out of me. Thank you to my wife @ladybailey37 and family for the unwavering support over the last 12 years!

But the retirement as a player does not mean retirement from baseball.  Bailey also announced that he would be taking a job with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim:

I am looking forward to new challenges, new memories and hopefully many championships as I am excited to announce I will be joining the Los Angeles Angels MLB staff.

While Bailey announced he would be joining the major league staff, the role has not been announced.  A quick review of the coaching staff shows that pitching coach Charles Nagy does not have an assistant pitching coach, a role that is being coming more and more common in baseball.

Bailey joined the Phillies as a minor league free agent and non-roster invitee to 2016 MLB camp.  Despite not signing a major league contract, Bailey would pitch 33 games for the Phillies.  After being released by Phillies, Bailey joined the Angels and pitched 12 games down the stretch and four games in 2017 prior to being injured, apparently leaving a good impression in the organization.

In 265 major league games, all in relief, bailey is 16-14 with a 3.12 earned run average.  Bailey have saved 95 games in his major league career.  Bailey also struck out 276 in 271 1/3 major league innings.

h/t Matt Rappa of Sports Talk Philly