Michael Thomas Baumann (born September 10, 1995) is 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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Tokyo Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams in Tokyo, the other being the Yomiuri G ...

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB). He has previously played 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) for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

, and

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

. In 2024, Baumann made history by playing for five different franchises—the Orioles, Mariners, Giants, Angels, and Marlins. This tied the single-season record for most franchises played for, a feat previously achieved by Oliver Drake in 2018 and

Bobo Leonard James "Bobo" "Bull" Leonard was an American baseball outfielder in the Negro league baseball, Negro leagues. He played from 1921 to 1928, spending time with several clubs, including three seasons with the Cleveland Tate Stars. References Externa ...

in 1924.

Amateur career

Baumann attended

Mahtomedi High School Mahtomedi Senior High School is a four-year public high school located in Mahtomedi, Minnesota, United States. The school houses grades 912 with a total population of approximately 1,146 students. About 22% of this population are from surrounding ...

Mahtomedi, Minnesota Mahtomedi ( ) is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 8,138 at the 2020 census. Mahtomedi is a suburb of St. Paul and is located between St. Paul and Stillwater along the shores of White Bear Lake. Geogr ...

, and played for the school's baseball and

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

teams. The

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) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

selected him in the 34th round of the

2014 MLB draft The 2014 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June 6, and the last 30 round ...

. He did not sign, instead enrolling at

Jacksonville University Jacksonville University (JU) is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Located in the city's Arlington (Jacksonville), Arlington district, the school was founded in 1934 as a two-year college and was known as Jacksonvill ...

to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Jacksonville Dolphins The Jacksonville Dolphins are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Jacksonville University, located in Jacksonville, Florida. The Dolphins participate in NCAA Division I athletics, and are primarily members of the ASUN Conference. S ...

. In 2016, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox The Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox, or Y-D Red Sox, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Red Sox play th ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

Professional career

Baltimore Orioles

The

selected Baumann in the third round of the

2017 MLB draft The 2017 Major League Baseball draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on June 12, while the remai ...

. In 2018, Baumann began the season with the

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shor ...

of the

Single-A Single-A, formerly known as Class A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams cl ...

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

. He received a promotion in May to the

Frederick Keys The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for the "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team ...

of the

High-A High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. He combined to go 7–6 with a 2.98 ERA and 142 strikeouts over 124 innings in 2019. On November 20, 2020, the Orioles added Baumann to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. On September 7, 2021, Baumann made his major league debut with the Orioles against the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

Oriole Park at Camden Yards Oriole Park at Camden Yards, commonly known as Camden Yards, is a ballpark in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the ...

. In his debut he pitched innings and allowed two hits and one walk. Baumann struck out one batter and retired 11 of the 14 batters he faced. He also earned his first Major League win. In his rookie campaign, Baumann recorded a 9.90 ERA in four games. Baumann pitched in 14 contests for Baltimore in 2022, registering a 4.72 ERA with 23 strikeouts across innings of work. On March 16, 2023, it was announced that Baumann would shift to a short-relief role rather than being a starter. He made 60 appearances out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

for the Orioles, compiling a 10–1 record and 3.76 RRA with 61 strikeouts across innings pitched. In 2024, Baumann made 17 relief appearances for Baltimore, logging a 3.44 ERA with 16 strikeouts across innings pitched. On May 18, 2024, Baumann was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Orioles.

Seattle Mariners

On May 22, 2024, Baumann and

Michael Pérez Michael Pérez (born August 7, 1992) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates, and New York Mets. Career Pérez att ...

were traded to the

in exchange for Blake Hunt. In 18 appearances for Seattle, he logged a 5.51 ERA with 16 strikeouts across innings pitched. Baumann was designated for assignment by the Mariners on July 19.

San Francisco Giants

On, July 21, 2024, Baumann was claimed off waivers by the

. He made one appearance for the Giants, allowing two runs and recording two outs in a blowout victory against the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

on July 26. The following day, Baumann was designated for assignment.

Los Angeles Angels

On July 30, 2024, Baumann was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations. In 10 games for the Angels, he worked to a 6.75 ERA with 7 strikeouts across innings. Baumann was designated for assignment following the promotion of

Ryan Zeferjahn Ryan Joseph Zeferjahn (born February 28, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). Amateur career A native of Topeka, Kansas, Zeferjahn played college baseball at the University ...

on August 23.

Miami Marlins

On August 25, 2024, Baumann was claimed off waivers by the

. He tied Oliver Drake and Bobo Leonard's record for appearing with five different teams in a single season. Baumann was responsible for giving up the historic 50th home run of the season to

Shohei Ohtani is a Japanese professional baseball designated hitter and pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "Shotime", he has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Angels and in Nippon Professional Basebal ...

as part of the first ever 50-50 season in the major league history. In 11 appearances for Miami, he struggled to a 6.59 ERA with 18 strikeouts across innings pitched. Baumann was released by the Marlins organization on December 9, in order to pursue an opportunity in Japan.

Tokyo Yakult Swallows

On December 9, 2024, Baumann signed with the

Personal life

His older brother, Nick, also played baseball and football at Mahtomedi and starred on the defensive line for the Concordia Cobbers. Baumann married his fiancée, Nicole, in December 2023. The wedding took place in Florida, where he resides in the offseason. Their first child, a son, was born in September 2024.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baumann, Mike 1995 births Living people Aberdeen IronBirds players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Minnesota Bowie Baysox players Delmarva Shorebirds players Frederick Keys players Gulf Coast Orioles players Jacksonville Dolphins baseball players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Marlins players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Norfolk Tides players People from Mahtomedi, Minnesota San Francisco Giants players Seattle Mariners players Sportspeople from Washington County, Minnesota Tokyo Yakult Swallows players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players