With context included, it has to be considered the biggest swing of Patrick Bailey’s baseball life.
The Cleveland Guardians were down 2-1 when he led off the top of the seventh inning on Monday night at Tropicana Field in Game 1 of the ALCS.
When Bailey’s next swing had fully concluded, he was rounding the bases and touching home.
A massive solo blast had tied the game, 2-2, and it sent the Guardians on their way to a come-from-behind win on the road over the Tampa Bay Rays to take the early edge in the ALCS.
The homer traveled 436 feet, and the switch-hitter Bailey had a chance to watch it fly to deep right-center before making his trip around the bases.
Coupled with Bailey’s positive defensive contributions, he’s certainly been worth the cost (Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson) the Guardians paid to the San Francisco Giants to get him earlier this year.
But even with all that in mind, a night later, Bailey won’t be in the lineup.
When the Guardians’ ALCS Game 2 lineup came out, Austin Hedges was in the catcher spot, not Bailey.
Why Isn’t Patrick Bailey Playing Tonight?
Bailey isn’t playing on Tuesday night in ALCS Game 2 because in one specific spot, the Guardians are quite old-school.
The days of personal catchers are mostly gone, but not for their young left-handed ace, Parker Messick.
Hedges has caught Messick’s starts since the beginning of the season, and the Guardians aren’t messing with that with Messick on the mound for Game 2.
There is some logic here when you consider that Hedges has been with the Guardians since Messick was called up last year, while Bailey showed up in the middle of the year.
If Messick and Hedges had already formed a great rapport by the time of the Bailey trade, it was logical for Cleveland to let its best-performing pitcher stay with the catcher who he was doing all that good work with.
During the regular season in particular, catchers need days off anyway, so it worked out in an easy way to let Bailey rest on days that Messick was pitching.
It just looks trickier in ALCS Game 2 after Bailey’s heroics in Game 1, but it was always going to be the case. Hedges catches Messick, and the Guardians don’t benefit enough by putting Bailey at some other spot in the order or in the field.
Is Patrick Bailey Available?
Yes, Bailey should be available. There’s nothing to suggest he’s hurt.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him come on either as a pinch-hitter for Hedges or as a defensive replacement — although Hedges is a good defender, too, Bailey might be the best framer in baseball, and that still matters even in the ABS era.
But that’s a later-game decision for manager Stephen Vogt. The Guardians have already followed their usual routine by penciling in Hedges to catch Messick, and Bailey will have to wait to see if he gets another moment to be the hero.
Why Patrick Bailey Isn’t Playing Tonight for Guardians as Austin Hedges Starts