John Baker Brought in As Director of Coaching and Player Development
As the Pittsburgh Pirates grow during this rebuild, their front office continues to grow and develop as well. When General Manager Been Cherrington was hired on November 18th, 2019, you knew he was going to make some changes to the Baseball Operations Department. He started that last season and has continued it into the 2020-2021 off-season when Larry Broadwater's position was changed from being the head of Player Development. Well, that position was filled yesterday when the Pirates hired former Major League catcher John Baker as their Director of Coaching and Player Development. It is the first major front-office move made by Cherrington, as he and his team out a focus on Player Development.
Baker had most recently served in the Chicago Cubs front office for the past five years holding various different roles for the team. His most recent title was Coach and Mental Skills Coordinator as he helped the players get in the right mindset before the game. He has been a part of playoff-caliber teams both in his playing days and as a front office guy. He spent seven seasons as a Major League catcher, playing for the Marlins, Padres, and Cubs, and has spent the last five years as a coach/front office personnel. Today, we look at Baker's playing and coaching career and see how he can help the Pirates in his new role as the top position of the Pirates Minor League system.
His Playing Career
Baker's Major League Baseball career began with the then Florida Marlins during the 2008 season. He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the fourth round of the 2002 MLB Draft and played seven Minor League seasons for the Athletics and Marlins before cracking the Big Leagues in 2008. When starting catcher Paul Lo Duca went down with an early-season injury, Baker and Matt Treanor would end up splitting the catching duties. Baker had a strong year and outperformed Treanor hitting .299 with five home runs and 32 RBI. When both Treanor and Lo Duca left the next season, Baker became the Marlins starting catcher and produced another strong season hitting .271 with nine home runs and 50 RBI over 112 games played.
However, he would appear in just 39 games over the next two seasons for the Marlins and would be traded for pitcher Wade LeBlanc during the 2011 - 2012 offseason. He would spend two seasons as the back-up catcher with the Padres and hit .233 with 14 home runs and 89 RBI. Being the veteran of the catching group, Baker was tasked with helping Nick Hundley as he developed into a full-time starting catcher. Once Hundley developed, the Padres had no more use for Baker and they designated him for assignment. He would be picked up by the Dodgers in 2013 but was stopped before being signed by the Chicago Cubs for the 2014 season.
Baker only played one season with the Cubs in 2014 and did not perform well hitting just .192 with 15 RBI in 68 games. The thing he is probably most noted for in his Cubs career is the day officially known as John Baker Day! On July 29th, 2014, the Cubs went into a wild 16-inning affair with the Colorado Rockies. The game was tied 3-3 heading to the top of the 16th and Baker came on in relief. He threw a scoreless top of the 16th and got the Cubs to the plate in the bottom half of the inning. Then, Baker drew a leadoff walk to start the 16th and later scored the winning run on a Starling Castro sacrifice fly to give the Cubs a 4-3 win. With the win, Baker became the first Cubs position player to win a game. Baker would retire following the 2015 season, after spending time in the Mariners Minor League system.
Transition Into Front Office Work
After retiring as a player, Baker found himself without a team for the first time in a long time. He was trying to decide life after baseball and what his next moves would be. That is when he got a call from Cubs General Manager Theo Epstein that would change his life forever. Epstein offered Baker a job even though he wasn't sure what that role would be. All he promised was that Baker would be paid and have health care for his family and the catcher accepted. He ended up being officially hired as a Baseball Operations Assistant on December 16th, 2015, at 35-years old. His main job was to work with the Minor League players with a focus on catching and mental development.
That was the year that Baker helped the Cubs break the curse and win their first World Championship in over 100 years. After that season, Baker was promoted to Coach, Mental Skills Coordinator. During his time with the Cubs, he has helped counties rookies make the transition from prospect to Major League player. Guys like Alec Mills, Nico Hoerner, and even veterans like Javier Baez have all worked with Baker to help get them ready for the game's biggest moments. Baker went from a life a weight-lifting and scouting reports to coaching players on how to take that next step in their careers to become impact players for their teams.
How He Helps the Pirates
With the Pirates beginning to rebuild their organization, Baker's role becomes more important than ever. He is going to be tasked with leading the player development efforts and getting them ready for the Major League level. He will work with players and coaches across all levels of the Minor League system to make sure that everyone's on the correct path to the Major Leagues. He will get to work with the newest Pirates top prospects like Nick Gonzalez and Carmen Mlodzinski as they get officially introduced to their new organizations. With the Minor Leagues hopefully starting back up in 2021, Baker will try and ensure that he is setting up Pirates prospects with both the physical and mental skills needed to succeed.
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