Delmer David Baker (May 3, 1892 – September 11, 1973) was an
American professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
player,
coach, and
manager. During his time as a player, he spent three years (1914–1916) in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
(MLB) as a backup
catcher
Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...
for the
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
. As a manager, he led the
1940 Tigers to the
American League pennant. He worked as a coach for 20 years for three American League teams, and was known as one of the premier
sign stealers of his era.
His professional career encompassed half a century in
organized baseball.
Player and minor league manager
Baker threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . Born in
Sherwood, Oregon, he was raised in neighboring
Wilsonville. After graduating from a
Portland business college, he took a job in 1909 as a bookkeeper in
Wasco, Oregon, where he caught for the town team. In 1911, a scout signed him to a contract with the
Spokane Indians of the Class A (equivalent to today's
Triple A)
Pacific National League, predecessor to the
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
(PCL). In 1914 he was promoted to the Detroit Tigers, and played in 172 games over three seasons as a back-up for
Oscar Stanage,
batting .209 with 63
hits, including nine
doubles and four
triples. In 1917, the Tigers farmed him out to the PCL's
San Francisco Seals. In 1918 he joined the
war effort, serving in the
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
, then returned to the PCL in 1920, this time with the
Portland Beavers. After three seasons there, Baker spent a season with the
Mobile Bears of the Class A
Southern Association, then returned to the PCL for three more seasons with the
Oakland Oaks.
After spending most of the 1928 season as player-manager of the Ogden Gunners in the Class C
Utah-Idaho League, Baker moved to the Class A
Texas League and caught for the
Fort Worth Panthers in 1929. In 1930 he was appointed player-manager of the
Beaumont Exporters, a premier Texas League team with some of Detroit's top prospects, including
Schoolboy Rowe,
Pete Fox, and
Hank Greenberg. The Exporters won 100 games in 1932, then swept the
Dallas Steers for the Texas League championship.
When Detroit manager
Bucky Harris promoted Rowe, Fox, and Greenberg to the major league level in 1933, he hired Baker to coach third base for the Tigers.
Tigers coach and manager
Baker served as interim manager after Harris resigned with two games to play in the 1933 season, then returned to coaching third base under Harris' replacement, player-manager
Mickey Cochrane. The Tigers won back-to-back
AL pennants in 1934 and '35, and their first ever
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
title in
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...
. Baker managed the team again in mid-1936, when Cochrane took a leave of absence due to what was described as a "nervous breakdown"; and again in mid-1937 after Cochrane suffered a fractured skull when he was hit by a pitch.
In 1938, the Tigers compiled an early-season record of 47-51; on August 7, Baker replaced Cochrane as manager. He rallied Detroit to 37 wins in 56 games, enough to finish in the
first division, but Detroit slipped to fifth in 1939.
1940 AL pennant

In 1940, the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
, who had won the AL pennant and the World Series four years running, faltered, leaving the Tigers and the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...
to contend for the league title. With three games remaining in the season, on Friday, September 27, and the two teams tied, Baker chose obscure rookie pitcher
Floyd Giebell to pitch for the pennant against future
Hall of Famer Bob Feller
Robert William Andrew Feller (November 3, 1918 – December 15, 2010), nicknamed "the Heater from Van Meter", "Bullet Bob", and "Rapid Robert", was an American baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Clevel ...
. Giebell threw a six-hit
shutout
In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...
.
Rudy York hit a two-run
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...
, and Detroit won the game, 2–0, clinched the AL title. But in the
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
, they lost in seven games to the
Cincinnati Reds despite
Bobo Newsom's heroic pitching performances.
With
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
on the horizon, the
1941 season was marked by the call to active military service of numerous baseball stars, including Greenberg. With their star power hitter out of the lineup, and Newsom ineffective, Detroit fell below .500 that season, and again in 1942. Baker was replaced after the 1942 season by
Steve O'Neill
Stephen Francis O'Neill (July 6, 1891 – January 26, 1962) was an American professional baseball catcher and Manager (baseball), manager. He played his first 13 seasons with the Cleveland Indians. As a manager, he led the Detroit Tigers to a ...
.
Later career
Baker returned to the coaching ranks with Cleveland (1943–44) and the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
(1945–48; 1953–60). From 1949–51, he served as skipper of the
Sacramento Solons and the
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...
of the
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
. In his final season, 1960, Baker managed one last time in the big leagues as Boston's interim pilot from June 8–12 between
Billy Jurges' firing and
Pinky Higgins' rehiring. Under Baker, the last-place Red Sox won two games and lost five. He retired from the game after his 50th season in baseball, his last day overshadowed by
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 193 ...
' last game as a player. Baker died at age 81 in
Olmos Park, Texas.
Sign stealing
As a coach and manager, Baker was known for his proficiency at detecting the type of pitch an opposing pitcher was about to deliver and tipping off his team's batter with verbal signals. He carefully observed each pitcher's idiosyncrasies, looking, he said, "for all the little quirks, details and tell‐tales." He found that many pitchers concealed the ball poorly before delivery, allowing him to see their grip. Others telegraphed their curve balls by bending their wrists, or subtly altering their wind‐ups. "There are also facial telltales. I know pitchers who, when they throw a curve, bite the lip or stick out the tongue," he said.
[Baker dead; managed Tigers.](_blank)
''New York Times'' (September 12, 1973), retrieved October 11, 2016.
Tigers shortstop
Dick Bartell wrote that the Tigers were unusually successful against Feller in 1940 because Baker was reading all of Feller’s pitches. Among Detroit hitters, it was said that Greenberg was the biggest beneficiary of Baker's tip-offs, although Greenberg himself said that "the importance of such information ... has been exaggerated."
[Del Baker](_blank)
at SABR.org, retrieved October 11, 2016.
Another apparent beneficiary was
Don Larsen, who wrote in his memoir:
In response, Larsen adopted a "no-windup" delivery, which he used in the
1956 World Series
The 1956 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1956 Major League Baseball season, 1956 season. The 53rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the American Leagu ...
to pitch the only
perfect game in Series history, in Game Five.
[Larsen and Shaw (2001), p. 97.]
Managerial record
References
External links
Del Bakerat The Deadball Era
*
:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Del
1892 births
1973 deaths
Baseball coaches from Oregon
Baseball managers
Beaumont Exporters players
Boston Red Sox coaches
Boston Red Sox managers
Cleveland Indians coaches
Detroit Tigers coaches
Detroit Tigers managers
Detroit Tigers players
Fort Worth Panthers players
Helena Senators players
Lincoln Railsplitters players
Major League Baseball bench coaches
Major League Baseball first base coaches
Major League Baseball third base coaches
Mobile Bears players
Oakland Oaks (baseball) players
Ogden Gunners players
People from Sherman County, Oregon
People from Sherwood, Oregon
Baseball players from Washington County, Oregon
People from Wilsonville, Oregon
Portland Beavers players
Sacramento Solons managers
San Francisco Seals (baseball) players
20th-century American sportsmen