- Floyd Baker
Infobox Person
name = Floyd Baker
birth_date = October 10, 1916
birth_place =Luray, Virginia
death_date = Nov. 17, 2004
death_place =Youngstown, Ohio Floyd Wilson Baker (
October 10 ,1916 –November 17 ,2004 ) was athird baseman inMajor League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Browns (1943–1944),Chicago White Sox (1945–1951), Washington Senators, (1952-1953),Boston Red Sox (1953–1954) andPhiladelphia Phillies (1954–1955). During a 13-season career, Baker posted a .251 batting average, with one home run and 196 RBI in 874 games played.Early years
Baker was born in
Luray, Virginia ,United States . He gained early recognition as a left-handed batter and right-handed thrower in amateur clubs and broke into the minor leagues in 1938."The Vindicator", Youngstown, Ohio,November 17 ,2004 .]Major league career
In 1943, Baker earned his first trial in the major leagues with the St. Louis Browns, after hitting .326 for a minor league club at
San Antonio, Texas , in 1942. Two seasons later, Baker was playing with theChicago White Sox , where his first batting mark was .317 in 1950. The previous year, he led the American League for fielding, with .978. Also in 1949, he tied the major league mark for first baseman, taking part in three double plays in one game.In 1951, Baker was purchased by the Washington Senators, where he would conclude his career as a major league player. In 1961, he was hired as a third base coach for the
Minnesota Twins , a position he held until 1964. Baker served as a scout for the Twins until his retirement in 1995.Later years
During his career as a scout, Baker was based in
Youngstown, Ohio , where his feats as a player for the Youngstown Browns were part of local baseball lore. In 1977, "The Youngstown Vindicator" reported: "Floyd Baker, who thrilled local Middle-Atlantic League fans with his classy fielding, still has his hand in the game. A local resident, Baker scouts for Minnesota. Baker, incidentally, started a triple play in the first game he played here".Floyd Baker died in Youngstown at the age of 88.
Trivia
Best season
*Baseball Year|1949: .251 BA, 40 RBI, 101 hits, 15 doubles, four triples, 125 games – all career-highs
Post-season appearance
*
1944 World Series ee also
*
Boston Red Sox all-time roster
*Chicago White Sox all-time roster References
External links
* [http://www.thebaseballpage.com/players/bakerfl01.php The Baseball Page]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bakerfl01.shtml Baseball Reference]
* [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/Pbakef103.htm Retrosheet]
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