Lynn native recalls new Sox closer Bailey’s college ball days at Wagner

Not many people can say they went to college with a future Major League Baseball closer. In the case of Lynn native Ryan McDermott, not only did he do just that, but the closer in question will now have that job for the Boston Red Sox: Andrew Bailey.Bailey is a New Jersey guy and McDermott is from Massachusetts (his father, Ray, is a former St. Mary’s football coach), so it makes sense they met somewhere between the states: Wagner College on Staten Island.”He was a real good control pitcher, kind of like you see today,” McDermott, 27, said. “We were always competing for a conference championship. Wagner’s a Division 1 baseball program. He was much more the control type, always throwing strikes.”The two made their acquaintance as early as their freshman year. Both played sports, with Bailey on the mound in baseball and McDermott calling signals at quarterback for the football team.Yet Bailey endured his share of difficulties, including Tommy John surgery his sophomore year, McDermott said. McDermott, too, had injury problems in the form of a torn rotator cuff/labrum that sidelined him his junior year.However, it seems things worked out for both McDermott and Bailey. Asked how his shoulder feels, McDermott said, “It’s hanging in there.”As for Bailey, his former classmate said that when he came back from surgery, “he turned into the dominant closer he turned into today.”Indeed, dominant would accurately describe Bailey, who broke the Oakland A’s rookie saves record (24) in his first season in the big leagues. He finished with 26 saves and AL Rookie of the Year honors.At the end of last month, Bailey came to the Red Sox from the A’s with teammate Ryan Sweeney in a deal that included Boston’s Josh Reddick.”I saw it on ESPN breaking news,” McDermott said. “All my old classmates were very excited.”These days, McDermott is back in his home state, living in Medford and working in the Financial District of Boston, with an MBA in finance (Wagner) under his belt and a Ph.D program in international business (Walden) starting in June.McDermott has known the highs and lows of being a Red Sox fan, sometimes in the same season. He was in New York when the Red Sox lost Game 7 of the ALCS to the Yankees in 2003 on Aaron Boone’s home run ? and he was there when the Sox launched their comeback from three games down in the ALCS the following year.As for this offseason, the Sox made a statement by replacing Jonathan Papelbon with another highly-touted reliever.”Now (Bailey’s) the closer for my hometown team,” McDermott marveled.Rich Tenorio may be reached at [email protected].