By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Andrew Bailey began the first two seasons of his career as an American League Rookie of the Year Award winner and a two-time All-Star with the Oakland Athletics, saving 51 games in 115 total appearances overall.
The Paul VI High School alumnus and Voorhees, New Jersey native would pitch six more seasons following his impressive early showing, also donning uniforms for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, his hometown team in the Philadelphia Phillies, and ending with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Injuries affected Bailey throughout most of his career, including a season-ending shoulder ailment suffered in August of last season.
In a shared post to his Instagram Monday evening, Bailey announced his 2017 season with the Angels, in which he went 2-0 in four scoreless innings, would be his last as a player. The 33-year-old will be retiring from the game to join the Angels staff this upcoming season as their instant replay coordinator and coaching assistant, according to The Orange County Register's Jeff Fletcher.
Bailey writes:
Thank you to the A’s, Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies and Angels organizations for believing in me, allowing me the opportunity to play the game and realizing my childhood dream. Thank you to all of my incredible teammates along the way who helped me and inspired me. Thank you to the coaches and coordinators who pushed me and taught me the game. Thank you to the countless athletic trainers, PT’s, strength coaches, surgeons and therapists who helped me through a long list of injuries. Thank you to the fans for always cheering and demanding the best out of me. Thank you to my wife @ladybailey37 and family for the unwavering support over the last 12 years! I am looking forward to new challenges, new memories and hopefully many championships as I am excited to announce I will be joining the Los Angeles Angels MLB staff. #2018 #LetsGo #halos ⚾️ #newbeginnings #springtraining #GoingbacktoCali #azbound #OaklandAs #RedSox #Yankees#Phillies #Angels #ThankYou
The right-hander went 3-1 with a 6.40 ERA in 33 appearances with the Phillies in 2016. He finished four games in red pinstripes, and recorded a 33-15 overall strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Phillies released Bailey on August 6, 2016, and was picked up by the Angels a week later.
