The Tale of Two Lillys – The Story of Pat and Jacob Lilly
The Tale of Two Lillys – The Story of Pat and Jacob Lilly
One is the greatest player in the history of the franchise. One is the most disappointing prospect in franchise history. The two of them have always been joined together by their names and the great faith placed in them by the Bakersfield organization. Now they bonded even more closely by their current predicament. Pat and Jacob Lilly are stuck together trying — and failing — to buoy the worst offense in Bear’s history, a predicament rendered even worse by the fact that that offense is such a glaring embarrassment to the premier starting pitching staff they are paired with. In short, the Bear’s anemic offense is producing an average of 3.8 runs a game, worst in all of PEBA. Meanwhile, the Bear’s pitching staff is only allowing an average of 3.3 runs a game, the best mark in the league. The blame cannot all be attributed to the two Lilly’s, of course, but in what appears to be both players last season in a Bear’s uniform this is surely not the way either imagined their time in Bakersfield would come to an end.
Pat Lilly will always be the greatest Bear to ever to wear the Bakersfield uniform, which is especially impressive when you consider the fact that he is chosen from a list that also includes arguably the best pitcher of all time, Markus Hancock. In fact, when all is said and done Hancock may even be the best player in the history of the game, but when you look at the Bear’s franchise, Pat Lilly is, was, and will always be “Mr. Bear.” On January 2, 2007, in the inaugural draft, the Bears selected Pat Lilly with the 4th overall pick. It was the first decision ever made by the franchise and its new first year general manger Jon Rosenblatt. Lilly was the most highly touted player in the draft pool and was the player the Bears most coveted to be the cornerstone of their franchise. That dream was answered when the first three teams passed on him and the Bears were able to scoop him up.
Pat led the Bears to an 108 win season that first year and won the 2007 Royal Raker award. He went on to win the award three out of the next four years only coming in second to teammate Jude Pew (Remember him? Those that burn twice as bright burn half as long). Lilly won the award in 2009. He won the award in 2010. 2011 was his statistically best season, but an injury prevented him from being eligible for the award). Lilly was an eight time all star and made the team every season that he was not injured. He was even at one point in his career an All Leather team award winning outfielder. He was the captain and undisputed team leader that led the Bears to their first championship in 2016. He had a hall of fame career and even now despite his current struggles is still the career PEBA leader in:
Slugging Percentage
On-base Plus Slugging Percentage
Runs Created Per 27 Outs
Weighted OnBase Average
Value Over Replacement Player
Win Above Replacement
For years the Bears realized that their aging star was nearing the end of his legendary career. After bringing the Bear’s their long awaited for championship, Pat left on good terms with the Bears and Mr. Bear went with the plan to end his career in Japan where he enjoyed two years as an all star and won an LRS championship with Neo-Tokyo Akira. The Bears were left facing the question of who will replace Lilly? Who will be the next Lilly? Ironically, the Bears thought that the next Lilly would Lilly … this time his name was Jacob.
Jacob Lilly was one of the top prospects in 2014 but high contract demands caused him to fall to the Aurora Borealis with the 12th overall pick. Lilly and the Borealis were not able to come to an agreement and Lilly went back into the draft. In the 2015 draft, the same contract concerns persisted as well as the red flag of sitting out a year. The Bears — desperate to replace Pat — took Jacob with the 25th pick. The Bears signed him to major league contract which was the only time in the history of the franchise that has made (or ever will make) such an arrangement. They paid him a 5.4 million dollar signing bonus and 2.7 mil for the the major league contract. The Bears gave over 9 million dollars to a player who had never played a game for them, but they believed he was worth the risk.
The Bears did not think he was major league ready but they thought he was much further along then he was. His first two seasons in the minor leagues were very disappointing. His third year he seemed to be showing signs of living up to the name and then on April 6, 2017 Jacob tore his anterior cruciate ligament. Although he has never fully recovered or developed into the player the Bears were counting on, the Bears stuck with him and he stayed in the organization.
The good people of Bakersfield have enjoyed 11 trips to the playoffs in the 12 seasons PEBA has been around. That means 11 times the Chocolate Factory has been open for the postseason. That is a record number and is especially impressive when you consider how difficult it is to make the playoffs. Canton, Kentucky and Yuma have never been to the playoffs. Kalamazoo, Connecticut and Omaha have only been once. Duluth, Reno, San Antonio, West Virginia have only qualified twice. The fine citizens of Bakersfield have been spoiled with unreasonable expectations and short memories.
The 2019 season has been a disaster. The Bears are still in 2nd place and in contention for a playoff spot but the offense has been so bad that the fans are fed up. Pat and Jacob Lilly run out of the dugout together to the sound of boos. This is not what the fans dreamt but it isn’t what Pat and Jacob imagined either.
Someday there will be a statute of Pat Lilly outside of the Chocolate Factory. Someday his number #37 will be the first Bear to be retired. But today Pat stands in right field with a .199 batting average. “I am not going to lie, it hurts.” said Pat. “When I decided to come back for this final year this is not what I expected.”
When Pat retired from the LRS, he came back to Bakersfield to reside in his house that he still owned with the plan of helping out the team as an assistant hitting coach with no intentions of playing again. On April, 14, two weeks into the start of the season, GM Jon Rosenblatt could see that the offense was going to need a boost. The Bears were able to persuade Pat Lilly to reconsider and signed him to a one year deal. In his first game back, like a fairy tale, he hit a home run in a Bear’s 5-0 victory over Yuma. The fairy tale did not have a happy ending and the Bears have not lived happily ever after. Pat has had career lows in every batting category. Jacob Lilly may be the only person in Bakersfield that does not see the return as a failure. “Pat may be not be the hitter he once was but he has taught me so much this year” said Jacob even though he looks like he could cry. “To be able to play alongside my hero growing up has been a dream come true.”
And while it has been a dream come true for Jacob to play alongside his idol, the same cannot be said about the younger Lilly’s performance. In 43 at bats this year, he has a single extra base hit and has yet to draw a walk. At this point, outside of some pinch-running and the occasional start to give an outfielder the day off, fans are unlikely to see Jacob play.
The season is not over and the Bears have not given up. They recently inked Markus Hancock to a long term deal and have finally brought up young phenoms Neil Maes and Seon-Chin Pak. The pitching staff is still top notch and the future is bright. But unless the offense can turn it around, 2019 will always be known for the hitting woes and the year where it said goodbye to both Lillys.
