Floyd Wilson Baker (October 10, 1916 – November 17, 2004) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system u ...

, who played

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB) for the St. Louis Browns (1943–1944),

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

(1945–1951), Washington Senators (1952–1953),

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) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...

(1953–1954), and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

(1954–1955). During a 13-season career, Baker posted a .251 batting average, with one home run, and 196

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, in 874 games played.

Early years

Baker was born in

Luray, Virginia Luray is the county seat of Page County, Virginia, United States, in the Shenandoah Valley in the northern part of the Commonwealth. The population was 4,895 at the 2010 census. The town was started by William Staige Marye in 1812, a descendant ...

, and attended Luray High School. 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 , Baker earned his first trial in the major leagues with the St. Louis Browns, after hitting .326 for there

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in San Antonio, Texas, and are named for the Spanish missions around which the city was founded ...

of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

in 1942. In , his sophomore MLB season, he was a reserve

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

for the 1944 Browns, the only

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-based edition of that franchise to ever win an

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

pennant. Baker then appeared in games 5 and 6 of the

1944 World Series World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

against its intercity rivals, the Cardinals, going hitless in two

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

and handling two chances without an

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in relief of veteran second baseman

Don Gutteridge Donald Joseph Gutteridge (June 19, 1912 – September 7, 2008) was an American infielder, coach, manager and scout in Major League Baseball. Primarily a second baseman and third baseman, he was a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Bro ...

. On December 30, 1944, Baker was acquired by the

, where he played in 590 games over seven seasons. His best overall statistical season came in when he compiled 40 runs batted in, 101 hits, 15 doubles, four triples, and played 125 games — all career-highs. He hit his lone big-league home run on May 4, a two-run blow struck off Washington's

Sid Hudson Sidney Charles Hudson (January 3, 1915 – October 10, 2008) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Washington Senators (1940–42, 1946–52) and Boston Red Sox (1952–54) who had a lengthy post-playing career as ...

on May 4 at

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. That year Baker also tied the major league mark for a

, taking part in three double plays in one game, and led American League third-sackers in

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

, with .978. Then, in , he batted .317 in 83 games. Baker became a Washington

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in 1957. In , the old Senators franchise's first season in

Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is commonly known as the Twin Citi ...

, he returned to uniform as the third base coach for the renamed

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...

, a position he held through . Baker then resumed his former role 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 Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, Mahoning County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of ...

, 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. He was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.

References

External links

Floyd Baker
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Floyd Baker
at The Baseball Page * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Floyd 1916 births 2004 deaths Baseball players from Virginia Baseball players from Youngstown, Ohio Boston Red Sox players Chicago White Sox players Major League Baseball scouts Major League Baseball third base coaches Major League Baseball third basemen Mayfield Clothiers players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Minnesota Twins coaches Minnesota Twins scouts People from Luray, Virginia Philadelphia Phillies players St. Louis Browns players San Antonio Missions players Springfield Browns players Toledo Mud Hens players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Washington Senators (1901–60) scouts Youngstown Browns players