Frank Baker

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Birth Name: John Franklin Baker

Born: 13 March 1886 Died: 28 June 1963

Country of origin: United States

Height: 5' 11"

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Greatest Baseball Players of All Time, Part 2 (100 items)
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Published 2 months, 2 weeks ago

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Description: John Franklin "Home Run" Baker (March 13, 1886 – June 28, 1963) was an American professional baseball player. A third baseman, Baker played in Major League Baseball from 1908 to 1922 for the Philadelphia Athletics and New York Yankees. Although he never hit more than a dozen home runs in a season (Ned Williamson hit 27 in 1884) and hit only 96 homers in his career (Roger Connor hit 138), Baker has been called the "original home run king of the majors". Baker was a member of the Athletics' $100,000 infield. He helped the Athletics win the 1910, 1911 and 1913 World Series. After a contract dispute, the Ath John Franklin "Home Run" Baker (March 13, 1886 – June 28, 1963) was an American professional baseball player. A third baseman, Baker played in Major League Baseball from 1908 to 1922 for the Philadelphia Athletics and New York Yankees. Although he never hit more than a dozen home runs in a season (Ned Williamson hit 27 in 1884) and hit only 96 homers in his career (Roger Connor hit 138), Baker has been called the "original home run king of the majors".

Baker was a member of the Athletics' $100,000 infield. He helped the Athletics win the 1910, 1911 and 1913 World Series. After a contract dispute, the Athletics sold Baker to the Yankees, where he and Wally Pipp helped the Yankees' offense. Baker appeared with the Yankees in the 1921 and 1922 World Series, though the Yankees lost both series, before retiring.

Baker led the American League in home runs from 1911 to 1914. He had a batting average over .300 in six seasons, had three seasons with more than 100 runs batted in, and had two seasons with over 100 runs scored. Baker's legacy has grown over the years, and he is regarded by many as one of the best power hitters of the deadball era. During his 13 years as a major league player, Baker never played a single inning at any position other than third base.

Following his retirement as a player, Baker managed the Easton Farmers of the Eastern Shore League during the 1924 and 1925 seasons. He was credited with discovering Jimmie Foxx and recommending him to Mack. After Baker sold Foxx to the Athletics, the Farmers fired Baker, because they believed Mack did not pay a high enough price for Foxx.

Baker was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1955.

On June 28, 1963, Baker died about two weeks after having a stroke.

Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included him in their 1981 book The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time. In his 2001 book The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, Bill James ranked Baker the 70th greatest player of all time and the 5th greatest third baseman. ... (more)

Tags: Baseball (1), Maryland (1), New York Yankees (1), Baseball Hall Of Fame (1), Third Baseman (1), Philadelphia Athletics (1), Trappe (MD) (1), Trappe High School (MD) (1)

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