GAILEN HONORED BY ATLANTIC LEAGUE Lancaster Outfielder Named to Silver Anniversary Team

For the third consecutive day, a former Lancaster Barnstormer has been honored by the Atlantic
League.
Blake Gailen, the league MVP in 2012, has been named to the league’s Silver Anniversary
Team, joining Lancaster teammates Bryant Nelson and Dwayne Pollok on the 25-man squad. He
is the 15th player to be named by the league.
The Silver Anniversary Team was selected from a list of nominees assembled by league officials
and voted upon by the ten current member clubs.
Gailen, now a coach in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, spent part or all of eight seasons
with Lancaster, spanning from 2012-21.
Coming off a season in which he batted .407 in the American Association, Gailen joined the
Barnstormers for 2012 and became one of the key performers on a team that holds the franchise
regular season record with 88 wins. He won the Atlantic League batting title at .338, scored 94
runs, belted 22 homers and drove in 89. Gailen hit three homers in the first two games of the
playoffs against York as the Barnstormers would go onto a three-game sweep of the Freedom
Division Series. Not only did he win league accolades following that season, Gailen was also
honored as Baseball America’s Player of the Year among those leagues now designated as MLB
Partner Leagues.
The native of Southern California may have had a better season in 2014, starting and finishing
with the Barnstormers around a stay with Los Toros de Tijuana. In just 66 games with
Lancaster, the lefty hit .350 with 18 homers and 52 RBI. His return from Tijuana spurred the
Barnstormers toward their championship run over the final month of the season.
Altogether, Gailen batted .303 in a Lancaster uniform with 117 home runs and 436 RBI. He is
the career Barnstormers leader in several offensive categories.
He was a member of Team Israel in the 2017 World Baseball Classic and the 2021 Summer
Olympic Games in Tokyo and served as a base coach for the Israelis in the 2023 WBC.
“I am honored to be part of that (team),” said Gailen. “That’s an understatement. The Atlantic
League and the Barnstormers, besides being a second home, were a huge stepping stone for my
career.”