Timothy Scott Baker (born September 19, 1981) is an American former professional baseball player. A starting pitcher, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers. He bats and throws right-handed.
Baker grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana, and attended Oklahoma State University. He was drafted by the Twins in the second round of the 2003 Major League Baseball draft and reached the major leagues in 2005. In 2006, he made their starting rotation out of Spring training but struggled and was sent to the minor leagues for most of the rest of the season. Beginning 2007 in the minors, he was called up in May and nearly threw a perfect game on August 31. He went 11–4 in 2008 and posted a 3.45 earned run average (ERA). In 2009, Baker logged a career-high 200 innings and started the American League (AL) tiebreaker game against the Detroit Tigers which the Twins won to advance to the postseason. He had a 12–9 record in 2010 but battled injuries towards the end of the year and was left out of the Twins' postseason rotation. Injuries limited Baker in 2011 again, but he was the only Twins' pitcher to post a winning record. He missed 2012 after undergoing Tommy John surgery; this also caused him to miss most of 2013, which he spent with the Chicago Cubs. He began 2014 in the minor leagues but was later added to the Texas Rangers' roster. Baker started eight games for the Rangers but was used mainly as a relief pitcher. In 2015, he signed with the New York Yankees but was released before the season started. Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers, he started two games for them, the last appearances of his major league career.
Early years Baker was born September 19, 1981, in Shreveport, Louisiana. He attended Captain Shreve High School in Shreveport, graduating in 2000. He was selected to the All-State team his senior year and played college baseball at Oklahoma State University. In the 2001 season, he was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American. In 2002, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was named a league all-star. In the 2003 season, he was named to the second team All-Big 12. In 2009–10, Baker became part of Captain Shreve's "Circle of Honor."
Draft and minor league career Baker was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the second round (58th overall) of the 2003 Major League Baseball draft. He began his minor league career with the Class A Quad Cities River Bandits that same year. In 2004, he played for the Class A-Advanced Fort Myers Miracle, Double-A New Britain Rock Cats, and Triple-A Rochester Red Wings, where he would spend the rest of his minor league career outside of rehab assignments until 2014. In 2004, Baker went a combined 10–8 with a 3.24 ERA in 26 minor league starts. He pitched the majority of his 2005 and 2006 seasons with Rochester. He pitched just seven games in 2007 for the Red Wings before being called up to pitch the rest of his 2007 season with the Twins.
Major league career
Minnesota Twins
2005 season Baker was called up on May 2, 2005; Baseball Prospectus speculated he might make starts in place of Kyle Lohse; Twins' manager Ron Gardenhire said he might be used to start if Lohse did not continue to improve. Baker did not wind up starting, making his MLB debut by pitching one scoreless inning out of the bullpen in an 8–1 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on May 7. That was his only appearance with the Twins in May. He was recalled in July to make his first major league start. On July 5, he pitched five innings, giving up just two runs on five hits and striking out five; however, he took the loss in a 2–1 defeat to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Though he was expected to get sent back to Rochester, Twins' manager Ron Gardenhire had praise for him, saying after the game, "We think we have a quality major leaguer ready to go, and he kind of proved that theory again." A few weeks later, on July 23, Baker had his first career win in Detroit with a 5–2 victory over the Tigers in Game 2 of a doubleheader. He started and pitched seven strong innings, allowing just two runs, but was sent back to Rochester immediately after the game, as he had been called up specifically to start in the doubleheader. On August 29, he returned to the Twins starting rotation for the remainder of the year, making seven consecutive starts to close the season as he replaced Joe Mays in the rotation. Baker finished his rookie year with a record of 3–3 and an earned run average (ERA) of 3.35 in 10 games (nine starts).
2006 season Baker beat out Francisco Liriano to earn the Twins' No. 5 starting spot out of Spring training. However, he struggled with his command, was unable to keep the ball down, and did not live up to the expectations following his rookie season. The 2–5 start with a 6.06 ERA caused Baker to be demoted to Rochester on June 1.
Baker ended up spending nearly the entire second half with the Rochester Red Wings, making only a handful of starts after the demotion. While the Twins played great baseball after a 25–33 start by winning the division on the last game of the regular season, Baker's season was a major disappointment. He finished the year with a 5–8 record and a 6.37 ERA in 16 starts and 83.1 innings, with two of the wins coming against the New York Yankees. Baker did not make the Twins' postseason roster.
2007 season Baker struggled in 2007 spring training, opening the season with Rochester. In May, though, the Twins removed Sidney Ponson from the rotation, giving Baker a chance to start again. In his first start of the season, on May 19, he pitched into the ninth inning, allowing two runs in a 5–2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. On July 26, after scuffling in several starts, he struck out a career-high nine hitters over seven innings in a 12-inning, 2–1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched a complete game on July 1, allowing only a home run to Marcus Thames, but that run was the only run of the game in a 1–0 loss to Detroit. He threw eight shutout innings on August 5, earning the victory in a 1–0 win over the Cleveland Indians. On August 31, Baker took a perfect game into the ninth inning against the Kansas City Royals at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome during the second game of a doubleheader, but lost his bid for perfection when he issued a walk to the first batter he faced in the ninth, John Buck. The second hitter after Buck that he faced, Mike Sweeney, hit a single, ending Baker's bid for a no-hitter. Baker finished the game by beating the Royals 5-0 allowing just one hit and completing his second complete game of his career. In 24 games (23 starts), Baker had a 9–9 record, a 4.26 ERA, and 102 strikeouts in innings.
2008 season Baker opened the 2008 season as the Twins' fifth starter. He won his first two starts of the season, the first coming on April 4 and the second coming on April 9. However, he placed was on the disabled list (DL) on May 7 with a strained right groin. This was the first DL stint of his career, and it lasted until June 5. On June 15, 2008, Baker became the first Twins pitcher to ever throw four strikeouts in the same inning. In the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers, Baker struck out Ryan Braun, then struck out Prince Fielder, but the ball bounced away from catcher Mike Redmond, so Fielder went to first base. Baker then proceeded to strike out Russell Branyan and Mike Cameron. The last pitcher to record such a feat was Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Brad Penny, who did it on September 23, 2006, against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Baker picked up his first career hit against Josh Banks on June 26 and earned the win in a 4–3 victory over the San Diego Padres. On July 20, Baker opened a game against the Texas Rangers with perfect innings but again wound up losing a game in which he pitched eight innings 1–0 when he allowed a solo home run to Taylor Teagarden. On August 21, he allowed one run in eight innings and earned a no-decision in a 12-inning, 2–1 victory over the Angels. Baker finished the season 11–4 with a 3.45 ERA and 141 strikeouts in 28 starts. His 0.48 ground ball/fly ball ratio was the lowest in the major leagues for 2008. The Twins finished the season tied with the Chicago White Sox for the American League (AL) Central lead, but the White Sox won a one-game playoff, eliminating the Twins.
2009 season Baker was expected to be the Twins' Opening Day starter, but he opened the 2009 season on the disabled list with right shoulder stiffness and posted a 9.15 ERA in his first four starts when he returned. On May 3, he no-hit the Royals through six innings, but he gave up five runs in the seventh inning of that game. He earned his first win on May 8, pitching seven shutout innings in an 11–0 victory over the Seattle Mariners. On May 24, he gave up three runs in innings and earned the win in a 6–3 victory over Milwaukee. Baker began trying to stand taller in his delivery, and on June 4 he struck out a career-high 10 batters in an 11–3 victory over the Indians. Baker went 4–0 in June, and from July 12 through September 5, he set a career-high with seven straight wins. On August 14, he had a two-hit shutout in an 11–0 win over Cleveland. After sitting seven games out of the AL Central lead on September 6, the Twins forced a tiebreaker with the Tigers, and Baker made the start. He allowed three runs over six innings, left eligible for the win, but took a no-decision. However, the Twins won 6–5 in 12 innings to clinch a trip to the playoffs. He led the Twins with 15 wins, 162 strikeouts, and finished second on the team behind Nick Blackburn with a 4.37 ERA, while pitching a career high 200 innings. However, the Twins were swept in three games in the AL Division Series (ALDS) against the Yankees, preventing Baker from making any playoff appearances.
2010 season Baker started on Opening Day for the Twins to kick off the 2010 season against the Angels but allowed four earned runs in innings, taking the loss in a 6–3 defeat. He won his next start, allowing one run in seven innings in a 2–1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on April 10. Through May 8, he went 4–2. On June 16, Baker struck out a career-best 12 batters through seven innings in a 2–1 victory over the Colorado Rockies. He picked up his 50th career win on July 2, allowing one earned run in seven innings in a 2–1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. On August 10, he allowed five runs (four earned) in six innings but earned his 10th win of the season in a 12–6 victory over the White Sox. He left a start with elbow pain on September 2 and did not pitch again until September 21. Baker finished the season on a 9–1 stretch and helped the Twins repeat as winners of the AL Central. In 29 starts, he had a 12–9 record, a 4.49 ERA, and 148 strikeouts in innings. During the season, he moved from 22nd to 12th all-time on the Twins' strikeout list. Baker was left out of the Twins' postseason rotation, though he was a member of their bullpen. He made his playoff debut in Game 3 of the ALDS, allowing one run in innings as the Twins were again swept by the Yankees.
2011 season