Neil Leifer
One of the most intriguing “What Ifs” in baseball history is the question “What if the Reds did NOT trade Frank Robinson to Cincinnati?”
Truth be told, while it was a HORRIBLE trade for the Reds, it is hard to see them having a BETTER decade in the 1970’s with him as they had without him.
Oiling the Big Red Machine on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
The first year I really collected the Kellogg’s 3D cards was in 1978. I think someone got me the whole set. Either that or I ate a CRAPLOAD of Rice Krispies that summer.
I assumed every player was a superstar. As I wrote in my Lee Mazzilli entry, some teams needed a representative. The 1978 collection reflected the results of the 1977 season, which happened to be the first for the Toronto Blue Jays.
They needed a representative. And Kellogg’s tapped Bob Bailor to be the Toronto star.
Using Sabermetrics, pitcher Jerry Garvin had the highest WAR total for the 1977 Blue Jays. But back then, people did not honor 18 game losers with ERA’s over 4 who led the league in a single category: Home Runs allowed. (Bailor did not crack the top 5 in WAR for the Blue Jays that season, but nobody knew that yet.)
Veteran Ron Fairly was the Toronto representative in the All Star Game in 1977. But by the time the cards went to the printer, he was playing his 21st and final Major League Season with the Angels.
So the honor went to Bailor. I always found the vagueness of his position “Outfield-Infield” to be odd, especially since the Kellogg’s Cards were specific even in the outfield. Players were listed as Left Field, Center Field or Right Field, as opposed to Topps’ general “OF” designation.
Not Bailor. Just don’t put him at catcher.
To be fair, that was an accurate description of how Blue Jays manager Roy Hartsfield used him.
The Pennsylvanian native was a product of the Baltimore Orioles farm system. When the American League expanded into Seattle and Toronto, Bailor was the Blue Jays’ first pick (and second overall to Rupert Jones going to Seattle.)
Bailor batted .310, setting an expansion season record. He also did not strike out until his 51st at bat of the season, a record at the time. Keeping his bat in the lineup meant putting him all over the diamond.
He started 49 games at shortstop, 46 games in center, 13 in left and a pair of games in right field for 1977. In 1978, he added third base to his resume, starting 28 games there as he won his second straight “Player of the Year” award in Toronto. He did not make the All Star team however either year.
His offensive production began to dip and by 1981, Bailor was traded to the Mets.
Ultimately he found himself as a role player for the Dodgers and played his final big league game in the 1985 NLCS against St. Louis. Eventually he returned to the Blue Jays and earned a pair of World Series rings as a coach for manager Cito Gaston.
Bailor was many things but most of all he was versatile. If the Outfield-Infield label was not vague enough for you, keep in mind he added one more position to his arsenal in 1980. He pitched 3 games that year.
I guess Outfield-Infield-Pitcher would have been a bit much.
Sully Baseball 
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