Bailey Wins Bench Award As Nation's Best Catcher
A week after being taken by the San Francisco Giants in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft, Patrick Bailey's status as the best catcher in college baseball this season was validated Thursday with his selection as the Johnny Bench Award winner.
The NC State junior is the third ACC player to win the award named in honor of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Famer, joining Miami's Zach Collins in 2016 and Florida State's Buster Posey in 2008.
Posey, coincidentally, is the current catcher for Bailey's new team.
Patrick Bailey has been named THE nation's best collegiate baseball catcher.
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) June 18, 2020
🔗https://t.co/m6DjPI36ZY pic.twitter.com/WzqN8GE2dK
A switch-hitter from Kernersville, Bailey hit .296 with a team-leading six home runs and 20 RBI in 17 games before the 2020 college season was halted because of the coronavirus pandemic.
He was second on the Wolfpack with 20 runs scored and a .685 slugging percentage and 17 walks. Three of his home runs were grand slams, all of which came in an 11-day stretch while hitting homers from both sides of the plate in the same game for the second time in his career.
Bailey is the only player in program history to accomplish that feat once.
As good as he was at the plate, Bailey's strength is his defensive game, particularly his ability to handle a pitching staff. He was one of the few catchers in the country who called his own game, something he did in all three of his seasons for coach Elliott Avent's team.
"There's a reason he was the first catcher off the board," said Wolfpack pitcher Nick Swiney, a second-round pick who was also drafted by the Giants last week. "He gets to know his pitchers really well. He gets to form that relationship kind of behind the scenes, what works best for them, It's impressive to go in and see him call a game."
