Marc Narducci: Bailey looks to build on his rookie success

The down time has passed and Oakland A's closer Andrew Bailey is itching to get back to work. The 2002 Paul VI graduate may have exceeded expectations more than any professional athlete this year.

Over the last year or so, Bailey went from struggling minor-league starting pitcher to all-star major-league closer.

The big story was supposed to have taken place in April, when Bailey overcame the longest of odds just to make the Oakland roster. However, he kept exceeding others' expectations, but not his own.

After moving to the bullpen midway through the 2008 season for double-A Midland, Texas, the righthander has surely found his niche.

In posting a 0.66 ERA in 12 spring-training appearances, Bailey showed enough to make the A's. And once he earned his spot, Bailey kept moving to the back of the bullpen until he inherited the closer's role.

This season, he was 6-3 with a 1.84 ERA in 68 games. Along the way, Bailey struck out 91 batters in 831/3 innings and earned 26 saves.

So now the 25-year-old Bailey is enjoying an off-season, where he has a bit of security but still guards against complacency.

"I still feel I have to make the team, and if you think you have it made bad things can happen," Bailey said in a recent phone interview. "If you are not working every day to make the team, somebody is there to take that spot."

Bailey should know. He was one of those who took someone else's spot and never relinquished it.

He has taken a few weeks off since the season ended, but is already starting to gear up for next year.

Bailey isn't getting too wrapped up in rookie-of-the-year talk; he's among many candidates in a deep American League field.

"Going into last year, my goal was to make the team and make an impression," Bailey said.

Then he went on to make the American League all-star team.

"I won't be disappointed if I don't win the [rookie-of-the-year] award," Bailey said. "Obviously, I would be honored and thrilled if it did happen, but it's not something I think about a lot."

Bailey said that at season's end, he was tired. "The adjustment for me was not so much the innings, but . . . the times getting game-ready and not going in, and having to go in the next day to pitch."

He said he was afraid to dwell too much on his successful rookie season because in baseball, and any other sport, it's all about looking ahead.

Still, he said he would always get a good feeling when thinking about what it was like walking into the American League locker room for the all-star gathering in St. Louis.

"It was awesome and something I will never forget," he said. "It was so sweet to walk in and see guys like Jonathan Papelbon, Derek Jeter, and Mariano Rivera. Being selected to the all-star team was an eye-opening experience."

Even though he's a pro and an all-star, Bailey remains a fan. And he says that he is pulling for the Phillies to repeat as World Series champions.

Having grown up in Haddon Heights - his parents now live in Medford - Bailey is a huge Philadelphia sports fan.

"You can't go to the doctor's office and withdraw the Philly blood," he said laughing. "The Eagles, Sixers, Flyers, and Phillies, those are the teams I grew up watching and rooting for."

And he still roots. Now, so many South Jersey people who know Bailey are also A's fans.

Next off-season, Bailey plans to get married. But, before then, he has another major-league season to prepare for.

Bailey understood the hard work required to get to where he is now. And after a few weeks of putting his feet on the couch, he's ready to start again, determined to pick up where he left off during an incredible first season that won't need a rookie-of-the-year award for validation.