Scott Baker (baseball)

Infobox MLB player


width = 150px
name=Scott Baker
position=Starting pitcher
team=Minnesota Twins
number=30
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1981|9|19
birthplace=city-state|Shreveport|Louisiana
debutdate=May 7
debutyear=2005
debutteam=Minnesota Twins
statyear=2008 season
stat1label=Win-Loss
stat1value=28-24
stat2label=Earned run average
stat2value=4.23
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=337
teams=
*Minnesota Twins (by|2005-present)

Timothy Scott Baker (born September 19 1981 in Shreveport, Louisiana) is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Minnesota Twins.

High school and College years

Baker attended Captain Shreve High School in Shreveport, LA, and graduated in 2000. He was selected to the All-State team his senior year.

Baker played college baseball at Oklahoma State University. In his 2001 season, he was named Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American. In his 2003 season, he was named second team All-Big 12.

Draft and minor league career

Baker was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the second round (58th overall) of the 2003 amateur entry draft.

Baker began his minor league career with then Minnesota Twins affiliate team the Quad Cities River Bandits in 2003. In his 2004 minor league season, he played for the Class A+ Fort Myers Miracle, Class AA New Britain Rock Cats, and Class AAA Rochester Red Wings, where he would spend the rest of his minor league career. He pitched the majority of his 2005 and 2006 seasons with the Rochester Red Wings. He pitched just seven games in 2007 for the Red Wings before being called up to pitch the rest of his 2007 season with the Twins.

Baker pitched 487 innings in his minor league career, which combined for a 27-23 record, 3.01 ERA, and 412 strikeouts.

Major league career

Minnesota Twins

2005

Scott Baker made his Major League debut pitching one inning out of the bullpen in an 8-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. On July 5, he made his first Major League start, going 5 innings and taking the loss in a 2-1 defeat at the Los Angeles Angels. His first career win came in Detroit on July 23 in a 5-2 victory over the Tigers, where he started and pitched 7 strong innings. Baker split time in 2005 between the Twins and Rochester, the Twins AAA affiliate. On August 29, he returned to the Twins starting rotation for the remainder of the year, making seven consecutive starts to close the season. Baker finished his rookie year with a record of 3-3 and an ERA of 3.35.

2006

Baker again split time between the Twins and Rochester this season. He made 16 starts with the Major League club, finishing with a record of 5-8 and an ERA of 6.37 while throwing 83.3 innings.

2007

On August 31, 2007, Baker took a perfect game into the ninth inning against the Kansas City Royals at the Metrodome during the second game of a doubleheader, but lost his bid for perfection when he issued a walk to the first batter he faced in the ninth, John Buck. The second hitter after Buck that he faced, Mike Sweeney, hit a single, ending Baker's bid for a no-hitter. Baker finished the game by beating the Royals 5-0 allowing just one hit and completing his second complete game of his career.

2008

On June 15, 2008, Baker became the first Minnesota Twins pitcher to ever throw 4 strikeouts in the same inning. In the 3rd inning against the Milwaukee Brewers, Baker struck out Ryan Braun, then struck out Prince Fielder, but the ball bounced away from catcher Mike Redmond, so Fielder went to first base. Baker then preceded to strike out Russell Branyan and Mike Cameron. The last pitcher to record such a feat was Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Brad Penny, who did it on September 23, 2006 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Through September 29, 2008, Baker is 11-4 with a 3.45 ERA and 141 strikeouts. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7533 ESPN - Scott Baker Stats, News, Photos - Minnesota Twins ] ]

Pitching style

Baker has a fastball in the upper 80s and lower 90s, with some movement, a good changeup, a curveball, and a slider. [ [http://mvn.com/mlb-twins/2007/08/24/life-without-johan/ Twins Killings | MVN - a Minnesota Twins blog » Blog Archive » Life Without Johan ] ] [ [http://baseballthinkfactory.org/files/looking_forward/discussion/2006_minnesota_twins BBTF's Looking Forward to ... Discussion :: 2006 Minnesota Twins ] ]

Personal life

Baker is married to wife Leann and they have a son, Elijah born July 28, 2005. [http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=435044 Scott Baker: Biography and Career Highlights | twinsbaseball.com: Players ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.publicradio.org/columns/minnesota/baseball/archive/2005/10/baker.php Baker likes taste of big leagues (Minnesota Public Radio)]
* [http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=6261 Scott Baker ESPN Player Profile]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bakersc02.shtml#TRANS Baseball-Reference]