Season-Ending Injury

Florida State Baseball Player Myles Bailey’s Injured in Game Against Duke University

Photo by Mathurin NAPOLY on Unsplash

Florida State’s (FSU) first baseman Myles Bailey suffered an ankle injury in the bottom of the eighth inning while sliding into second base after a failed pickoff attempt by Duke. This injury leaves FSU without its star hitter, who, throughout this season, has the most runs, hits, home runs, runs batted in (RBI), total bases and the highest on-base percentage.

Even with Bailey, FSU baseball faced constant criticism for being inconsistent, but now that he is out for the rest of the year, it will be very difficult to continue to have a successful season.

“In front of the college baseball world,” ESPN writer Jordan Silversmith said. “He developed into a superstar, and once he makes a full recovery, he should continue to be on his path to one day being a professional baseball player.”

The Seminoles started the game off strong with a 4-1 lead by the end of the fifth inning, Duke retaliated right after and led the game 6-5 entering the eighth. In the eighth inning, Caleb Anderson’s pickoff throw went astray, and shortstop Carter McCulley scored the game-winning run, but as Myles Bailey raced to steal second base in a slide, he suffered an ankle injury, which ended his season.

“Bailey was not just the engine for the offense,” Silversmith said. “He was the offense, and it will be the challenge of the season for Florida State to collectively replace that.”

FSU may be in deep trouble without Bailey, but there are some stats backing up the Seminoles which prove they may be able to still contend without him. The Noles are winners of three ACC series, including a road sweep against Wake Forest. The Noles are also in first place in the ACC and are seventh in the Rating Percentage Index (RPI) and have the fifth-hardest schedule according to D1Baseball. 

“Now that Myles Bailey is out, some key players that are needed to step up are Cal Fisher and Chase Williams,” freshman Wyatt Patrick said. “They both have done little in the offense and as upperclassmen; it’s very important for them to step up.”

FSU players must be ready to step up to this challenge, as players like Fisher, Eli Putman and Hunter Carns need to make an impact for the team with Bailey absent. Fisher has struggled at the plate and has played multiple positions in the field, and still hasn’t found a home. Last year, He batted over .300 and was named to the Tallahassee All-Regional team with FSU, but whether he can get back to that place remains to be seen.

Putman has found his position at first base after struggling at second, but still needs to be more impactful going into the rest of the season. Carns came to FSU alongside Bailey as a highly rated recruit last season, and both players are now draft-eligible sophomores.  

This is not the only devastating injury that has haunted FSU. For example, former quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a leg injury in 2023, and though the team went undefeated the rest of the season, the Seminoles were left out of the College Football Playoff because of losing such an impact player. Can FSU baseball rewrite history and find success without Myles Bailey?