Player Profile: Scott Bailes

I have 25 cards of Scott Bailes. This one is from 1987 Donruss.

Playing career: Scott Bailes was a mediocre left-handed reliever (and occasional starter) for the Indians and Angels from 1986 to 1992, never posting an ERA below 4.18. Five years after his last game with the Angels in 1992, having been completely out of baseball for most of those five years, he made a comeback with the Rangers in 1997 and had his best season, going 1-0 with a 2.86 ERA in 24 appearances. He struggled the following season and this time retired from baseball for good.

Where he is now: He is the Manager of Market Development for the Springfield Cardinals and sits on the Springfield City Council in Missouri.

Interesting stories: Like beloved baseball-card blogger Night Owl, doctors told Bailes he had to stop eating foods like ice cream (Bailes’s favorite food) in 1991. In this case, the then-Angels pitcher was diagnosed with hypoglycemia.

Before the diagnosis, Bailes suffered through a miserable 1990 season, which led to him taking out his frustrations at home. “I was kind of short with the kids and JoAnne, and that wasn’t fair to them,” he told the LA Times that year.

Overall, however, Bailes has been a great dad according to his daughter Tara, who nominated him as a 417 Magazine “Best Dad” last year. “I can’t think of anyone I’d rather talk to about problems or frustrations I’m having than him, and having a father like that has been the most rewarding experience of my childhood,” she wrote.

In another Q-and-A with the magazine, he revealed that his favorite club to play for was Cleveland. “We attracted about 5,000 fans, so I know about half of them.” He also revealed that he is a Steven Seagal fan and his favorite surprise about the City Council was the free soft drinks during the meetings.

My memories: I remember his comeback in 1997. He had been out of the game for so long it was a real surprise to see him back, kind of surreal.

Google Autocomplete results: He is second when you type Scott Bail, between Scott Bailey, an actor on Guiding Light, and Scott Bailey DDS, a dentist in upstate New York. There do not appear to be any other prominent Scott Baileses.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Andrew Bailey.