Phil Baker

Philip Baker

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 8", Weight 152 lb.

• Debut May 1, 1883
• Final Game September 2, 1886
• Born September 19, 1856 in Philadelphia, PA USA
• Died June 4, 1940 in Washington, DC USA

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Biographical Information

Phil Baker was a first baseman/outfielder/catcher during parts of three years in the majors (1883-1884 and 1886).

Baker was born on September 19, 1856, in Philadelphia. He started playing baseball in the International Association in 1878 at age 21 and moved on to the National Association in 1879. For reasons unknown, he was blacklisted in 1880 but reinstated at the 1882 meetings of the American Association. He was 26 years old when he broke into the big leagues on May 1, 1883, with the Baltimore Orioles. He played for the Orioles (AA) (1883); Washington Nationals, Union Association (1884); in the minor leagues (1885); and the Washington Nationals) of the National League (1886), playing his final major league game on September 2nd at age 29. He returned to the minors and played his final game in 1889 at age 33. He was an umpire in the National League for five games between June 10 and July 30, 1889, ending his baseball career at age 33.

Even though he caught only 50 games, he is tenth on the all-time list of "most games caught by a left-handed catcher". Overall in the majors, he had 212 hits, 134 runs scored, 20 doubles, 11 triples, and 3 home runs with a .259/.293/.322 slash line in 195 games. He died at 83 at his daughter's home in Washington, DC, after a long illness and is buried at Glenwood Cemetery in Washington.

Related Sites

• For a full Bibliography from SABR's The Baseball Index (TBI)