If you haven’t heard the incredible story of 33-year-old Verdugo Hills, California native, Blake Gailen, you undoubtedly will at some point in the near future, so why not right now?

On Tuesday it was reported that the Dodgers had signed the 5′-9″ / 180-pound Southern California native to a minor league contract … again; this after Gailen had appeared in a grand total of 1,226 professional games in several different Independent Leagues (917 games), Foreign Leagues (147 games) and the minor leagues (162 games).

Gailen attended El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, California, where he was both a pitcher and an outfielder, which certainly offered an early glimpse as to his versatility and a trait that Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is extremely fond of these days.

After graduating high school, Gailen went on to play for the Glendale Community College Vaqueros and then with the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Runnin’ Rebels, but went undrafted out of college.

As a result, Gailen decided to go the Independent League route and in 2007 signed on with the Anderson Joes of the now defunct South Coast League. (Baseball trivia: The Anderson Joes were affectionately named after ill-fated Chicago White Sox outfielder Shoeless Joe Jackson of “Say it ain’t so, Joe” fame). With the Joes, Gailen hit a very impressive .368.

In 2008, Gailen joined the also now defunct Wichita Wingnuts of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. In his combined two seasons with the Joe’s and Wingnuts, Gailen continued to pitch and play the outfield.

During the 2009 and 2010 seasons, Gailen joined the Chico Outlaws of the North American Independent League, where he hit .355 and .387 respectively, while recording 30 doubles and stealing 36 bases. 

In July of 2011, Gailen joined the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball League but was signed away to a minor league contract by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to replace some guy named Mike Trout on the roster of their Double-A affiliate Arkansas Travelers … so he will always have that to brag about over beers with his buddies.

Unfortunately, Gailen was unable to duplicate the .406 that he hit in the 68 games with the Saltdogs while with the Travelers. As a result, he was released by the Angels prior to the 2012 season, but immediately signed with the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball for the 2012 season.

In his first season with Lancaster, Gailen hit .338 while smashing 22 home runs, 26 doubles and stealing 25 bases, earning him Atlantic League MVP honors.

Gailen returned to Lancaster for the 2013 season, although not quite reaching the same level of success he enjoyed the previous season, hitting .288 and half the home runs (11). However, he hit ten more doubles.

Towards the end of the 2013 MiLB season, Gailen signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays and played eight games for their Triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bisons. He became a free agent at the conclusion of the season and joined the Venados de Mazatlán of the Mexican Pacific Winter League.

Gailen returned to the Lancaster Barnstormers in 2014, hitting .350 with 18 home runs and 15 doubles before signing with the Toros de Tijuana of the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol for 51 games, hitting .271. He rejoined the Venados as well, and also spent time with the Leones del Caracas in the Venezuela Winter League.

With a bazillion frequent-flyer miles already under his belt, Gailen began the 2015 season back with the Barnstormers, but fell short of his marks from previous seasons. However, the Angels renewed their interest in him and signed him to another minor league contract midway through the 2015 season and he returned to Double-A Arkansas. This time he did better, slugging 10 home runs and 15 doubles.

Gailen yet again became a free agent at the conclusion of the 2015 season and returned to (wait for it…) the Barnstormers in 2016, where he hit .280. 

In 2017, Gailen participated in the World Baseball Classic with Team Israel, with his team finishing in third place in Round 2 – Pool E. He then began the 2017 season back with you know who, where he posted a very impressive .323 batting average with the Barnstormers. His success – not to mention his tenacity – seemed to pique the interest of the Dodgers, who signed him to a minor league contract in June of 2017 and assigned him the their Double-A affiliate Tulsa Drillers.

With the Drillers, Gailen posted an impressive slash-line of .300 / .371 / .500 / .871, with seven home runs and 35 RBI in the 49 games in which he appeared, however he was released by the Dodgers at the conclusion of spring training 2018.

Not being one to give up and by now knowing the name of every good restaurant in Lancaster, PA, Gailen returned to the Barnstormers in 2018 for his seventh season. And though he only hit .282 during the 2018 season, he drilled 28 home runs. To round out 2018, Gailen joined the Tomateros de Culiacan of the Mexican Pacific Winter League. 

Whether it was his impressive performance in 2018 or his insatiable never-say-die attitude, Gailen once again grabbed the attention of the Dodgers, who signed him to a minor league contract on Tuesday afternoon, most likely with an invitation to major league spring training camp.

No matter who your favorite MLB team is or (if you have one) your favorite Independent League team, it is impossible – absolutely impossible – not to be a fan of Blake Gailen.

Go Blake!

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