Frank “Home Run” Baker

In the decades before baseball fans became enamored of sluggers like Babe Ruth and Jimmie Foxx, very few players were identified with the long ball. Instead, the game was dominated by men like Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner, players who sprayed the ball around the park, stole bases and mastered the hit and run. In fact, only one player entered the baseball mythology for his slugging: Frank “Home Run” Baker.
Born in Trappe, Maryland, in 1886, Baker earned his moniker by hitting two game-changing homers in the 1911 World Series. That was the also the first year he led the American League in home runs, with the grand total of 11. Altogether, he led for four consecutive years (1911–1914), though he never hit more than 12 dingers in a single season. Playing third base for the Philadelphia Athletics and the New York Yankees, Baker led the way for the more Ruthian totals to come in the Roaring ’20s. His is the story of a young player who at the height of his career risked throwing it all away in a contract dispute with the legendary Connie Mack. It is the story of the deadball era and the transition to the game we know today.

Journalist Barry Sparks is a public and media relations specialist. His articles have appeared in Wall Street Journal, Writer’s Digest, Baseball Digest, Sports Collectors Digest and many others. A member of the Society for American Baseball Research and the Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society, he lives in York, Pennsylvania.

Barry Sparks
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 288
Bibliographic Info: photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2006
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2381-1
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1861-6
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1

1. From Trappe to Philadelphia      3
2. Rookie Season      19
3. World Champions      35
4. Everlasting Fame      53
5. A Bittersweet Season      81
6. Redemption      98
7. Turmoil and an Upset      121
8. Retirement, a Bitter Feud and Rumors      155
9. New York’s Hope      176
10. Wartime Baseball      186
11. Huggins Takes the Reins      195
12. Babe Comes to New York      209
13. Return to New York and the World Series      219
14. The Final Season      236
15. Retirement      249
16. Life After Baseball      257

Chapter Notes      267
Bibliography      273
Index      277

“extensive research and use of primary source material…informative”—Sport Literature Association; “thorough”—SABR Deadball Committee Newsletter.