Ryan Baker (minors03)

Ryan J. Baker

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 205 lb.

• Schools University of Cincinnati, Daytona Beach Community College
• High School Portland High School

• Born November 9, 1984 in Portland, ME USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Catcher Ryan Baker was All-State as a high school senior. He hit .286 as a college freshman and repeated the mark in 2006, when he threw out 3/4 of attempted base-stealers. Transferring to Cincinnati, he batted .245 with two home runs in 52 games as a junior. He spent the summer with the Brainerd Blue Thunder. As a senior, he batted .288 with 9 homers and gunned down 45% of would-be base thieves. He made third-team All-Big East Conference and then was named to the Big East All-Tournament Team. The New York Yankees signed him as an undrafted free agent.

Baker was 1 for 13 with 6 K for the 2008 GCL Yankees and 1 for 7 with the Tampa Yankees that year. He returned to the Yankees' minor league system for 2009 and then was listed on Great Britain's 40-man preliminary roster for the 2009 Baseball World Cup. In 2009, hit .200/.280/.356 in 18 games between the Staten Island Yankees and Trenton Thunder. He played in 18 games between the Tampa Yankees and Thunder in 2010, hitting .079/.234/.079 and in 2011, he hit .125/.194/.156 in 11 games for Trenton. In 2012, he hit .500 in two at-bats for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees and also posted a 5.40 ERA in 3 1/3 innings of work. In 2013, he appeared in two games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but didn't get an at-bat. On the mound, he had a 6.23 ERA in 4 1/3 innings.

In December 2013, he was suspended for 50 games for failing to take a mandatory drug test. The Yankees also released him that month.

He hit .139/.226/.204 with 19 hits in 137 at-bats in 63 games over six seasons. He hit two home runs, both coming in 2009. Baker was the Yankees' "organizational catcher," a player teams maintain in case multiple injuries open up a roster spot for a catcher. When he wasn't playing, he was often used as the bullpen catcher and spent considerable time on the disabled list - if and when his services were needed, he was activated.

Sources

• University of Cincinnati
• 2009 Yankees Media Guide