Bailey will take helm of Beetles
By SCOTT SPRUILL
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

Mike Bailey remembers being one of the kids chasing foul balls during hot summers at Parker Field.
"When I was younger it was a big thing to a Beetle," Bailey said. "I came all the way through the program, from a little kid just hanging out to playing every day, and I loved it."
Now the 35-year-old Bailey will lead that program.
Yakima Youth Baseball has hired the 1989 Eisenhower graduate as the head coach for the Yakima Pepsi Beetles. He will be the ninth coach in the 69-year history of the American Legion program.
"Having a former Beetles player is certainly nice, but the main thing was getting the best man for the job and that's Mike," said Yakima Youth Baseball president Ken Weaver. "He's an educator with great enthusiasm — he's got everything."
An English teacher at East Valley High School, Bailey has 14 years of coaching experience. Eight of those years were as an assistant at Yakima Valley Community College, where last season he worked with outfielders and hitters.
Bailey replaces Ryan Froula, who coached 10 seasons before resigning abruptly — with the rest of his staff — last December over concerns with a coaches directive drafted by a newly formed coaches committee.
The coaches committee remains in place but it does not include parents and Bailey is a member of it. There is currently no coaches directive.
"I've been good friends with Ryan for a long time so considering the circumstances I was reluctant to start with," Bailey said. "I was assured there would be no directive for things like (player) selections and decisions. I'm comfortable with that."
Weaver still maintains the directive, which called for coaches to meet with the committee before rosters were finalized, was a greatly misunderstood issue.
"We weren't married to it at all. It was just a rough draft," Weaver said. "We weren't trying to impose anything on coaches, but obviously we did something wrong because it upset a lot of people."
Weaver said that eventually Yakima Youth Baseball will have a written philosophy or mission statement for coaches — which he insists was the original intent behind developing a directive — but that time is "down the road."
Bailey, who played on the Beetles last regional championship team in 1988, has six positions to fill from his assistants down through the Blues and Scarlets programs. He expects to step down soon as an assistant for YVCC coach Ken Mortensen.
"That will give me time to get out and scout these kids," Bailey said. "The best way for me to get to know them so to get out there and watch them play. I'm excited to get going."