Tom Baker (bakerto01)

Thomas Calvin Baker
(Rattlesnake)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1½", Weight 180 lb.

• Debut August 15, 1935
• Final Game September 24, 1938
• Born June 11, 1913 in Nursery, TX USA
• Died January 3, 1991 in Fort Worth, TX USA

BR page

Biographical Information

"As I was sayin', here was this big rattler on the road fixin' for a fight. I slowed down somewhat and bore over, tryin' to get around him. Would he let me? No sir. He just whirred that ol' tail of his, opened his mouth and struck at my front tire. And do you know what happened? Well sir, when them sharp fangs of his punctured the tire while the air just naturally poured right out and down that rattler's throat. In less than no time he looked like one of these balloons they sell at this County Fair. And then when his hide couldn't stretch no more, why he just busted right in my face." - Tom Baker, talking his nickname in Baseball Nicknames: A Dictionary Of Origins & Meanings

Texas native Tom Baker spent six seasons in professional baseball from 1935 to 1940. He was in the major leagues from 1935 to 1938, splitting his time between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants, and went 3-9 with a 4.73 ERA. He was in the minor leagues from 1938 to 1940 winning 26 and losing 40 with a 4.39 ERA in 87 games and spent about equal time with three different clubs. He was with the Jersey City Giants of the International League, the Springfield Nationals of the Eastern League and finished up with the Greenville Spinners of the South Atlantic League. Baker left pro baseball in 1940, at the age of 27, after being traded to the Washington Senators.