| Gene Baker | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||||
| Second baseman | |||||||||||||
| Born:(1925-06-15)June 15, 1925 Davenport, Iowa, U.S. | |||||||||||||
| Died: December 1, 1999(1999-12-01) (aged 74) Davenport, Iowa, U.S. | |||||||||||||
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |||||||||||||
| Professional debut | |||||||||||||
| NgL: 1948, for the Kansas City Monarchs | |||||||||||||
| MLB: September 20, 1953, for the Chicago Cubs | |||||||||||||
| Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||
| June 10, 1961, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||
| Batting average | .265 | ||||||||||||
| Home runs | 39 | ||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 227 | ||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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Eugene Walter Baker (June 15, 1925 – December 1, 1999) was an AmericanMajor League Baseballinfielder who played for theChicago Cubs andPittsburgh Pirates during eight seasons between 1953 and 1961, and was selected for theNational League team in the1955 All-Star Game. He threw and batted right-handed, and was listed at 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m), 170 pounds (77 kg).
A native ofDavenport, Iowa, Baker starred on thebasketball andtrack teams atDavenport High School, and playedsandlot baseball, then went into theUnited States Navy, being stationed atOttumwa Naval Air Station and Iowa Pre-Flight School. After his discharge from the Navy, he played for theKansas City Monarchs of theNegro American League as their regularshortstop during 1948 and 1949.[1]
In 1950, Baker joined the Cubs' organization, playing briefly atSpringfield andDes Moines before joining theLos Angeles Angels, of the Triple-A and Open ClassificationPacific Coast League, where he impressed all with his fielding and baserunning.Bobby Bragan, manager of the Angels’ chief rivals, theHollywood Stars, said Baker was "as good a shortstop as I’ve ever seen – and that includesPee Wee Reese."[1]
The Cubs purchased Baker's contract and he made his major league debut on September 20, 1953. A few days after acquiring Baker, the Cubs acquired another shortstop, future Hall of FamerErnie Banks, and moved Baker to second base, perhaps believing he would be able to adapt to a different position more easily than the younger Banks. He primarily playedsecond base for the Cubs and Pirates during eight seasons. He was a reserve infielder for the 1960World Series champion Pirates and made three pinch-hit appearances during the Series.[2]
In 1961, Baker became the firstAfrican-Americanmanager inOrganized Baseball when the Pirates named him skipper of theirBatavia Piratesfarm club in theNew York–Penn League.[3] In 1962, he became the first black coach in Organized Baseball when the Pirates named him player-coach of their Triple-AInternational League affiliateColumbus Jets.[4] In 1963, the Pirates promoted him to coach on the Major League team.[5] He was the second black coach in the big leagues, followingBuck O'Neil by a half-season. He is also credited with being the first black manager inMajor League Baseball when he took over for ejected Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh on September 21, 1963.[6] Baker then spent many years as ascout for the Pirates.
He died in Davenport at the age of 74. He is buried inRock island National Cemetery.
· Baseball Almanac
