Jesse Ormond Baker (June 3, 1888 – September 26, 1972) was a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. He played for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

in 1911 and also spent seven years in the minor leagues. Baker was 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighed 188 pounds."Jesse Baker Statistics and History"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 16, 2011.

Career

Baker was born in a

log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a less finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first generation home building by settlers. Eur ...

Anderson Island, Washington Anderson Island is the southernmost island in Puget Sound and a census-designated place of Pierce County, Washington, United States. It is accessible by boat or a 20-minute ferry ride from Steilacoom. Anderson Island is just south of McNeil Isla ...

.Blau, Marc H. (2011).
Baseball in Tacoma-Pierce County
'. Arcadia Publishing. p. 51. He started his professional baseball career in 1908 with the

Northwestern League The Northwestern League was a sports league that operated in the Central United States during the early years of professional baseball for five seasons: 1879, 1883–1884, and 1886–1887. After the 1887 season, the league was replaced by the We ...

's Tacoma Tigers. That season, he had a

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

of 10–14."Jesse Baker Minor League Statistics & History"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 16, 2011. In 1909, he played for the Tigers again before being traded to the Spokane Indians in the middle of the season. He went 14–26 to lead the league in losses but also had 249

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s to top the circuit in that category, as well. In 1910, Baker had arguably his best season, as he went 28–10 and led the Northwestern League in

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

(335.1) and wins. The

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

's Chicago White Sox purchased his release, in August, for $6,000 and two other players.Spink, Alfred Henry (1911).
The National Game
'. SIU Press. p. 122. On April 23, 1911, Baker made his debut with the White Sox and became the first player from

Pierce County, Washington Pierce County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 921,130, up from 795,225 in 2010, making it the second-most populous county in Washington, behind King County, and the 60th-most populous ...

, to appear in the major leagues. He started eight games for Chicago that year, relieved in 14 games, and finished 2–7 with a 3.93

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. That was the only year he played in the majors. Baker then spent the next two seasons in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

, winning a total of 23 games there. He finished his professional baseball career back in the Northwestern League in 1914. Overall, he pitched in 225 minor league games and had a win–loss record of 91–91 to go along with his 2–7 major league mark. Baker died in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

, in 1972, and was buried in Mountain View Memorial Park.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Jesse 1888 births 1972 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Chicago White Sox players Tacoma Tigers players Spokane Indians players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Baseball players from Washington (state) People from Pierce County, Washington