Delmer David Baker was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
catcherCatcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
,
coachIn baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...
and
managerIn baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
in
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. As a manager, he led the
1940-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Detroit Tigers *All-Star Game, July 9 at Sportsman's Park: National League, 4-0-Awards and honors:*Most Valuable Player**Hank Greenberg - OF, Detroit Tigers...
Detroit TigersThe Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
to the
American LeagueThe American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
pennant. As a coach, he was known as one of the premier "sign stealers" in baseball.
Player and minor league manager
Born in
Sherwood, OregonSherwood is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States. Located in the southeast corner of the county, it is a residential community in the Tualatin Valley southwest of Portland. The population was 11,791 at the 2000 census. The 2006 estimate is 16,115 residents...
, and raised in neighboring
WilsonvileWilsonville is a city primarily in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. A portion of the northern section of the city is in Washington County. Originally founded as Boones Landing due to the Boones Ferry which crossed the Willamette River at the location, the community became Wilsonville in...
, Baker played extensively in the
minor leaguesMinor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
. He did appear in 172 major-league games over three seasons (1914–16) with the Tigers,
battingBatting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
.209 with no
home runIn baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s and 22 RBI. After managing Detroit's
Texas LeagueThe Texas League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the South Central United States. It is classified a Double-A league. The league was founded in 1888 and ran through 1892...
farm team, the
Beaumont ExportersThe Beaumont Exporters were a franchise in American minor league baseball that played in the Texas League from 1920-49 and 1953-55. The city of Beaumont, Texas, was also represented in the Texas League from 1912-17 and 1919 as the Oilers, from 1950-52 as the Roughnecks, and from 1983-86 as the...
, to 100 victories and the 1932 championship, Baker was named a Tigers coach under
Bucky HarrisStanley Raymond "Bucky" Harris was a Major League Baseball player, manager and executive. In 1975, the Veterans Committee elected Harris, as a manager, to the Baseball Hall of Fame.-Biography:...
for
1933-Headline Events of the Year:* First Major League Baseball All-Star Game, July 6 at Comiskey Park: American League, 4-2.* First Negro League Baseball All-Star Game.-Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Giants over Washington Senators...
.
Tigers' coach and skipper
He remained in that role under new playing manager
Mickey CochraneGordon Stanley "Mickey" Cochrane was a professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers...
when the Tigers won back-to-back
AL pennantsEach season in Major League Baseball , one American League team wins the pennant, signifying that they are the league's champion and have the right to play in the World Series. The pennant was presented to the team with the best win–loss record each year through the 1968 season, after which the...
in 1934-35, and their first ever
World SeriesThe World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
title in
1935The 1935 World Series featured the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago Cubs, with the Tigers winning in six games for their first championship in five Series appearances. They had lost in , , , and ....
. Baker, as Detroit's "senior coach," took over as acting manager three times: in
1933-Headline Events of the Year:* First Major League Baseball All-Star Game, July 6 at Comiskey Park: American League, 4-2.* First Negro League Baseball All-Star Game.-Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Giants over Washington Senators...
, when Harris was fired at the end of the season, then temporarily in the midseasons of
1936-Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over New York Giants *All-Star Game, July 7 at Braves Field: National League, 4–3-Awards and honors:* Most Valuable Player**American League: Lou Gehrig, New York Yankees, 1B...
(when Cochrane took a leave of absence for a bout of depression) and
1937-Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over New York Giants *All-Star Game, July 7 at Griffith Stadium: American League, 8-3-Awards and honors:*MLB Most Valuable Player Award**American League: Charlie Gehringer, Detroit Tigers, 2B...
(when Mickey was hit in the head by a pitched ball and suffered a fractured skull that ended his playing career).
In
1938-Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Chicago Cubs *All-Star Game, July 6 at Crosley Field: National League, 4-1-Awards and honors:*Most Valuable Player**Jimmie Foxx, Boston Red Sox, 1B...
, the Tigers started poorly and by midseason they had won only 47 of 98 games. Cochrane was released as skipper, and Baker was given the permanent job. He rallied Detroit to 37 wins in 56 games, enough to finish in the first division, but Detroit slipped to fifth in
1939-Headline Event of the Year:*On May 17, 1939, Princeton University and Columbia University played the first televised baseball game. On August 26, the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers played the first televised Major League Baseball game...
.
Manager of 1940 AL champs
The following season, 1940, saw the
New York YankeesThe New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
(league and world champions four years running) drop out of the race, and the Tigers and
Cleveland IndiansThe Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
battle for the flag. On the final day of the season with the clubs tied, Baker chose obscure rookie pitcher
Floyd GiebellFloyd George Giebell was an American Major League Baseball player who is best remembered as the pitcher who shut out Bob Feller and the Cleveland Indians in his third career start to clinch the American League pennant for the Detroit Tigers over the Indians.Born in Pennsboro, West Virginia,...
to pitch the crucial contest — and he defeated future Hall of Famer
Bob FellerOn December 8, 1941, Feller enlisted in the Navy, volunteering immediately for combat service, becoming the first Major League Baseball player to do so following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7. Feller served as Gun Captain aboard the USS Alabama, and missed four seasons during his service...
and the Tribe, 2-0, to win the pennant by a game. In the
1940 World SeriesThe 1940 World Series matched the Cincinnati Reds against the Detroit Tigers, with the Reds winning the Series in seven games for their second championship, their first since the scandal-tainted victory in...
, however, Detroit lost in seven games to the
Cincinnati RedsThe Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
, despite the pitching heroics of well-traveled veteran
Bobo NewsomLouis Norman Newsom was an American starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. Also known as "Buck", Newsom played for a number of teams from 1929 through 1953...
.
With
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
on the horizon, the
1941-Headline events of the year:*Joe Dimaggio hits in 56 consecutive games. After being hitless in the 57th game, he hit safely in 16 more consecutive games for a streak of 72 of 73 games.*Ted Williams ended the season with a .406 batting average...
season was marked by the call to active military service of several baseball stars. One was the Tigers' great power hitter,
Hank GreenbergHenry Benjamin "Hank" Greenberg , nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank" or "The Hebrew Hammer," was an American professional baseball player in the 1930s and 1940s. A first baseman primarily for the Detroit Tigers, Greenberg was one of the premier power hitters of his generation...
. With him missing from the lineup, and with Newsom ineffective, Detroit fell below .500 that season, and again in
1942-Major League Baseball:*World Series: St. Louis Cardinals over New York Yankees *All-Star Game, July 6 at Polo Grounds: American League, 3-1-Other champions:*Negro Leagues World Series: Kansas City Monarchs over Homestead Grays...
. Baker was released, and replaced by
Steve O'NeillStephen Francis O'Neill was an American catcher, manager, coach and scout in Major League Baseball.Born to Irish immigrants in Minooka, Pennsylvania , O'Neill was one of six brothers who escaped a life in the coal mines by playing in the major leagues...
.
Late career
He then returned to the coaching ranks with Cleveland (1943–44) and the
Boston Red SoxThe Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
(1945–48; 1953–60). From 1949-51, he served as skipper of the
Sacramento SolonsThe Sacramento Solons were a minor league baseball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Pacific Coast League during several periods . The current Sacramento River Cats began play in 2000...
and the
San Diego PadresThe San Diego Padres were a minor league baseball team which played in the Pacific Coast League from 1936 through 1968. The team that would eventually become the Padres was well traveled prior to moving to San Diego. It began its existence in 1903 as the Sacramento Solons, a charter member of the PCL...
of the
Pacific Coast LeagueThe Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
. In his final season,
1960-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates over New York Yankees ; Bobby Richardson, MVP*All-Star Game , July 11 at Municipal Stadium: National League, 5-3*All-Star Game , July 13 at Yankee Stadium: National League, 6-0...
, Baker managed one last time in the big leagues as Boston's interim pilot between
Billy JurgesWilliam Frederick Jurges was an American shortstop, manager, coach and scout in Major League Baseball. He was born in Bronx, New York. During the 1930s, he was central to three National League champion Chicago Cubs teams...
and
Pinky HigginsMichael Franklin "Pinky" Higgins was an American third baseman, manager, front office executive and scout in Major League Baseball who played for three teams and served as manager or general manager of the Boston Red Sox during the period of through . He batted and threw right-handed.-Playing...
. The Red Sox won two games and lost five. He retired from the game after his 50th season in baseball, his last day overshadowed by
Ted WilliamsTheodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
' last game as a player.
Baker died at age 81 in
Olmos Park, TexasOlmos Park is a city located within San Antonio in Bexar County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,343 at the 2000 census. The city is the second wealthiest location in the San Antonio metropolitan area after Hill Country Village.- Government :...
.
Baker's career major league managing record: 412 wins, 357 losses (.536) over all or parts of nine seasons.
External links