Nathan Bailey plays in first Native American All-Star baseball game

La Conner High School baseball prospect Nathan Bailey made history last weekend.

Bailey was in Atlanta representing the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community at the first-ever Native American All-Star Showcase as one of 50 tribal high school players selected nationally to take part in a pro-style workout and compete in a marquee Sunday afternoon game.

Bailey blasted a run-scoring triple. The Atlanta Journal-American’s digital gallery posted a photograph of him running to third base.

The two-day event took place at Truist Park, home of the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves, and featured instruction from several former major leaguers, including Marquis Grissom, who belted over 200 homers and drove in nearly a thousand runs during a solid 16-year big league career.

An incoming freshman, Bailey had his picture taken with Grissom while posing next to the 2021 World Series trophy. A banquet for players and their families in the stadium’s sky lounge was another highlight.

The Braves and the 7G Foundation, an organization providing Native students with educational, athletic and cultural growth opportunities, teamed up to launch the All-Star Showcase project.

“We are honored to be hosting the first Native American All-Star Baseball Showcase alongside the 7G Foundation,” said Braves’ President and CEO David Schiller. “We want to create access and exposure for Native American student-athletes as they work to build their baseball careers.”

Bailey got a boost this past spring when he was elevated by La Conner coaches Jeremiah LeSourd and Andy Otis from the eighth grade team to play with the high school varsity.

Bailey responded with two stellar outings against Concrete, a NW2B rival.

Bailey tossed four scoreless innings and fanned 11 Lion batters in leading La Conner to a 13-3 triumph in its home opener. He and C.J. Edwards had two base hits apiece and each drove in a pair of runs in a 6-0 La Conner win at Concrete.

“Nate is a natural baseball player who also works very hard at the game,” said head football coach Charlie Edwards, C.J’s dad, and an assistant with the school’s baseball program. “He’s very consistent. He hits with power, fields with grace and throws with accuracy.

“Baseball is a game of consistency, and Nate is very consistent,” Edwards stressed. “They say that luck comes from the hard work nobody sees you put in. And Nate truly puts in that hard work, and it shows.”

Bailey’s mom, Inez, said that among those attending were scouts from southeastern colleges and universities.

In addition, players met with Braves’ executives and members of the club’s scouting staff.

Bailey and the other players drilled in southern summertime heat. It affected spectators, too.

“It was so dang hot,” Inez Bailey said, “that my phone overheated.”

For Bailey, that warmth was matched back home, where friends and relatives had pitched in to help with the fundraising that made his travel and All-Star Showcase participation possible.

“The community support has been amazing,” Inez Bailey said, “and we’re so grateful.”