Andrew Bailey, Matt Szczur headline South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2022

The South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame will induct seven new members at the 62nd annual Hot Stovers Baseball Club of South Jersey Anniversary Dinner, including a pair of former Major Leaguers.

This year’s class is headlined by two-time All-Star and 2009 American League Rookie of the Year Andrew Bailey (2002 Paul VI graduate) and 2007 Lower Cape May alumnus Matt Szczur, who spent parts of five seasons in the bigs.

The other inductees are David R. Miller (Highland), Dan Olson (Lower Cape May), George West (Buena), Steve Worrell (Lower Cape May) and John Yurkow (Gloucester Catholic).

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The event will be held at Adelphia Restaurant on Nov. 26 at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased by contacting Joe Smith at (609) 513-8382.

The Hot Stovers will also give six student-athletes scholarships, recognize veteran umpire Ralph Miller and give Mainland assistant Mike Edwards its Humanitarian Award.

The inductees:

Andrew Bailey

Bailey spent eight seasons in the Majors, where he went 16-14 with 95 saves, a 3.12 ERA and 276 strikeouts. He was an All-Star in his first two campaigns and had 26 saves and 91 strikeouts in 2009 to earn American League Rookie of the Year honors.

Bailey played with the Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Angels. He’s currently the pitching coach for the San Francisco Giants.

David R. Miller

Miller was an All-South Jersey selection in 1984, where he hit .425 with 5 homers and also went 5-0 on the hill. Miller was selected in the Major League draft on three different occasions.

He was an All-Star in the Short Season Single-A New York Penn League, where he went 8-3 with 1.37 ERA. He got as far as Triple-A. He went into coaching after that, and worked his way up to the Cleveland Indians bullpen coach in 2012. He’s still with the organization as a special assignment scout.

Dan Olson

Olson batted .421 with 121 hits, including 69 for extra bases, 28 of which were homers, during his career with the Caper Tigers. He was a two-time All-South Jersey and All-State selection. He went onto Indiana State, where he was a three-time All-Missouri Valley Conference honoree. He was a Second Team All-American in 1996 and was invited to the U.S. Olympic trials.

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Olson was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 1996 MLB Draft, he was an All-Star in both Single-A and Double-A, and won the league’s Home Run Derby in 1998. He batted .319 in his final season in the minors.

Matt Szczur

Szczur was a football and baseball standout at Lower Cape May. On the diamond, he shined from the very beginning. He batted .681 as a senior and finished his career with 22 homers and 114 RBIs. He went on to Villanova where he hit .392 and was an All-American, All-Big East and the Big Five Player of the Year.

He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the sixth round in 2010. He debuted in the Majors in 2014 and spent five seasons at that level. He suited up for the Cubs and San Diego Padres. He batted .231 with 136 hits, 80 runs, 12 homers and 61 RBIs.

George West

West enters the Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach at Buena. He was an All-South Jersey and All-State pick as a player. He batted .467 with 52 hits, 7 homers, 58 RBIs and 44 runs, and was 8-2 with a 1.57 ERA and 82 strikeouts in his senior season. He went onto Monmouth and was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1998. He spent time in the Rookie League and played independent ball.

As a coach, he led Buena to a 196-83 record over 10 years, which included a 2011 Diamond Classic title and South Jersey Group 2 crowns in 2008 and 2012.

Steve Worrell

The 1988 Lower Cape May grad and 1992 Stanford alum was All-South Jersey and All-State as a junior and senior and a high school All-American in his final campaign. He shined with his bat and his arm, as he batted better than .300 in each of his last three years and was 27-10 as a pitcher with 408 strikeouts.

The White Sox selected him in the 18th round in 1992, and he was named the Pitcher of the Year in both Single-A in 1995 an Double-A in 1996. He reached Triple A.

John Yurkow

The Gloucester Catholic graduate went on to Rowan where he set the school record for career runs (179) and walks (176) as well as walks in a season (56). He also led the team in runs per game in 1997, doubles in 1999 and stolen bases in 1997 and 1998. He was a three-time All-New Jersey Athletic Conference pick.

Yurkow has been Penn’s head coach the past six seasons, where he’s won 169 games. 

Josh Friedman has produced award-winning South Jersey sports coverage for the Courier Post, The Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times for more than a decade. If you have or know of an interesting story to tell, reach out on Twitter at @JFriedman57 or via email at jfriedman2@gannettnj.com. You can also contact him at 856-486-2431. Help support local journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame to induct seven new members