Home Run Baker

⭐ Hall of Fame 1955

Born: 3/13/1886 in Trappe, MD, USA

Died: 6/28/1963 in Trappe, MD, USA

MLB Debut: 1908-09-21 | Final Game: 1922-09-29

Bats: L | Throws: R | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 173 lbs

Full name: John Franklin Baker

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Biography

Home Run Baker, born in 1886, was a prominent American baseball player whose career spanned from 1908 to 1922. As a position player, he became a key figure in Major League Baseball during the early 20th century, a time when the game was transitioning from the deadball era into a more offensively oriented approach. Baker was known for his powerful hitting and exceptional batting skills, finishing his career with a .307 batting average, 1,838 hits, and 96 home runs. His ability to drive in runs was also notable, as he accumulated 987 RBIs over the course of 1,575 games. Baker's playing style combined both power and speed, evidenced by his 235 stolen bases, which was quite remarkable for a player of his time. His contributions to the game were significant, as he not only excelled as a hitter but also set a standard for future power hitters. Baker's legacy is marked by his impressive statistics and the impact he had on the evolution of offensive play in baseball, making him a celebrated figure in the sport's rich history.

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
1575	5984	887	1838	315	103	96	987	235	473	344	0.307	0.363	0.442	0.805	22634.4

Career AVG .307 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — +18.0% above league average.

Career OBP .363 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — +12.0% above league average.

Career SLG .442 vs. league average .345 across their career seasons — +28.1% above league average.

Career OPS 0.805 vs. league average 0.669 across their career seasons — +20.3% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1908	PHA	AL	9	31	5	9	3	0	0	2	0	0	2	0.290	—	—	—	—	0.0
1909	PHA	AL	148	541	73	165	27	19	4	85	20	26	48	0.305	.244 (+25%)	.306 (+12%)	.312 (+43%)	.618 (+28%)	2332.1
1910	PHA	AL	146	561	83	159	25	15	2	74	21	34	36	0.283	.249 (+13%)	.317 (+4%)	.326 (+20%)	.644 (+12%)	1004.0
1911	PHA	AL	148	592	96	198	42	14	11	115	38	40	38	0.334	.266 (+25%)	.336 (+13%)	.356 (+42%)	.693 (+28%)	2996.5
1912	PHA	AL	149	577	116	200	40	21	10	130	40	50	38	0.347	.268 (+29%)	.335 (+20%)	.358 (+51%)	.694 (+36%)	3948.1
1913	PHA	AL	149	564	116	190	34	9	12	117	34	63	31	0.337	.259 (+30%)	.325 (+27%)	.345 (+43%)	.670 (+35%)	3956.5
1914	PHA	AL	150	570	84	182	23	10	9	89	19	53	37	0.319	.255 (+25%)	.322 (+18%)	.339 (+30%)	.661 (+24%)	2632.6
1916	NYY	AL	100	360	46	97	23	2	10	52	15	36	30	0.269	.248 (+8%)	.314 (+10%)	.326 (+31%)	.640 (+20%)	1267.6
1917	NYY	AL	146	553	57	156	24	2	6	71	18	48	27	0.282	.248 (+13%)	.312 (+10%)	.323 (+13%)	.635 (+12%)	1258.2
1918	NYY	AL	126	504	65	154	24	5	6	62	8	38	13	0.306	.255 (+20%)	.318 (+12%)	.326 (+25%)	.645 (+19%)	1639.1
1919	NYY	AL	141	567	70	166	22	1	10	83	13	44	18	0.293	.262 (+12%)	.322 (+7%)	.347 (+12%)	.670 (+9%)	1062.3
1921	NYY	AL	94	330	46	97	16	2	9	71	8	26	12	0.294	.286 (+3%)	.344 (+2%)	.395 (+10%)	.739 (+7%)	431.7
1922	NYY	AL	69	234	30	65	12	3	7	36	1	15	14	0.278	.285 (-3%)	.345 (-6%)	.397 (+12%)	.743 (+4%)	105.9

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
25	91	15	33	7	1	3	18	5	11	0.363

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1922	WS	NYA	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000
1921	WS	NYA	4	8	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.250
1914	WS	PHA	4	16	0	4	2	0	0	2	1	3	0.250
1913	WS	PHA	5	20	2	9	0	0	1	7	0	2	0.450
1911	WS	PHA	6	24	7	9	2	0	2	5	1	5	0.375
1910	WS	PHA	5	22	6	9	3	1	0	4	2	1	0.409

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
3B	1548	300	2154	3155	322	259

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1908	PHA	3B	9	9	12	22	0	0
1909	PHA	3B	146	146	209	277	42	16
1910	PHA	3B	146	145	207	313	45	35
1911	PHA	3B	148	0	217	274	30	26
1912	PHA	3B	149	0	217	321	34	25
1913	PHA	3B	149	0	233	280	44	19
1914	PHA	3B	149	0	221	292	24	20
1916	NYA	3B	96	0	133	210	22	16
1917	NYA	3B	146	0	202	317	28	21
1918	NYA	3B	126	0	175	282	13	30
1919	NYA	3B	141	0	176	286	22	28
1921	NYA	3B	83	0	84	173	11	16
1922	NYA	3B	60	0	68	108	7	7

Career Games by Position

Position	Games
Third Base	1544

Awards & Honors

Year	Award	Notes
1918	Baseball Magazine All-Star	3B
1914	Baseball Magazine All-Star	3B
1914	Baseball Magazine All-Star	3B
1913	Baseball Magazine All-Star	3B
1913	Baseball Magazine All-Star	3B
1911	Baseball Magazine All-Star	3B
1911	Baseball Magazine All-Star	3B