Baker still earning everything as a Dust Devil

On the baseball diamond, Chris Baker hasn’t been given much.

He had to fight to get on the field at St. Francis High School in Mountain View, Calif. He had to play and master three positions to get playing time at the University of Washington, and he had to work for three years to become the most solid bat in the Huskies’ lineup.

“My freshman year, I played third, and it was just a way to get on the field for me, and I really liked just getting an opportunity because I felt like I could take advantage of it,” Baker said. “Whatever the team needs, I’m there to bring it to the table.”

Drafted in the 17th round by the San Diego Padres this year, Baker has become the everyday shortstop for the Tri-City Dust Devils. He has been a team leader at the plate, hitting .298 with a .407 on-base percentage and .404 slugging percentage. In the field, he boasts a .953 fielding percentage in 280 1/3 innings at short.

Tri-City manager Ben Fritz said Baker’s style of play and his attitude make him a great guy to have on the roster.

“He’s not super loud, but he just goes about his work the right way,” Fritz said. “Days he doesn’t have early work, he’s taking extra ground balls, just always looking to get better. Just that personality is contagious. Guys are drawn to it. He’s a professional and knows how to go about his work.”

This production comes off the heels of a stellar junior season at Washington. He was in or near the team lead in batting average (.311), slugging percentage (.491), doubles (11), triples (3) and home runs (7). He did all this while posting a .954 fielding percentage at second, third and short to lead the Huskies to an NCAA Regional appearance.

“He was probably our most improved, and probably our most consistent hitter at the plate, so he did everything we asked from him and more,” Washington baseball coach Lindsay Meggs said. “From the time Chris got to us to the time he left, every part of his game improved. He got stronger. He learned to hit the ball to the opposite field. He learned how to play three defensive positions as well as anybody could handle all three at one time.”

Fritz and Meggs agreed Baker’s ability to play three infield positions greatly improve his chances of moving up through the minor-league ranks.

“I’m sure there are some guys who can play short and second, but I don’t know if there are that many that can play all three positions,” Baker said. “The more positions I can play, the more likely it is that I’m gonna be on the field.”

Baker credits his father, Greg, as one of his main inspirations for pursuing a career in baseball. A huge San Francisco Giants fan who played some baseball in his formidable years, Greg Baker spent many summer nights playing catch and throwing batting practice to his son.

Greg Baker, who would occasionally travel to Seattle to see Chris play at Washington or head to Stanford or Cal for a close-to-home road game, took a road trip with the Dust Devils earlier this month. He headed from Hillsboro to Vancouver and then back to Pasco for a series against Eugene.

“Ever since a young age, I’d always have some sort of a ball around, or a glove or bat,” Chris Baker said of his father’s influence on his baseball career. “Everything, every drill, just everything he knew, he’d pass on to me, which is always really nice.”

Late Thursday

Marcus Wilson had two hits and three RBIs, and the Hillsboro Hops scored six runs in the last three innings to come back and beat the Tri-City Dust Devils 9-8 on Thursday night in a slugfest at Gesa Stadium.

After knocking on the door in almost every inning since the fourth, the Hops (17-17) finally broke through in the top of the eighth, plating four runs, two of them via a two-out triple by Wilson.

With three of the Dust Devils’ top bullpen arms getting promoted within the organization this week, Nathan Foriest (0-1), who came in with two on and one out in the eighth, was one of three pitchers making his season debut for the Dust Devils. He was the only one who couldn’t wiggle out of a sticky situation. The winning run was tallied against him, he allowed his two inherited runners to score, and he got stuck with the blown save and the loss.

An RBI triple by Taylor Kohlwey was one of the only hard-hit balls in the Dust Devils’ four-run, four-hit bottom of the third that gave Tri-City a 4-0 lead. An infield single by Boomer White that deflected off Hillsboro shortstop Adam Walton plated two runs for the Dust Devils in the frame.

Hillsboro cut the lead back to one heading into the bottom of the seventh. A three-run Dust Devils response, which featured another run-scoring single by White, put Tri-City back up 8-4. But a strikeout, a failed safety squeeze, and a misread ball in the dirt by Kohlwey kept the Dust Devils from tacking on more when they had runners at first and third with nobody out.

“Hands down, this was the hardest loss of the year,” Fritz said. “My first year as a manager, this is the hardest one I’ve dealt with. I think we got a little bit cute in the eighth when we already scored (three). Kohlway’s a good bunter, we’ve got good speed on third. Kohlway’s also a hot bat — probably could have let him swing it in hindsight.”

Playoff picture

Fortunately for the Dust Devils, the rest of the Northwest League North went 1-2 on Thursday night, with the Spokane Indians notching the only victory, an 11-2 affair against the Boise Hawks.

With the win, Spokane moved into a tie with the Dust Devils at the top of the division with four games to play in the first half of the season entering Friday night’s games. The Dust Devils, however, hold the head-to-head advantage over the Indians in the first half, and would clinch a playoff spot if the two teams end up tied.

With losses Thursday, the Everett AquaSox and Vancouver Canadians sat a game back of first. Vancouver is the only team in the division with a winning record against the Dust Devils this season.

This story was originally published July 22, 2016 at 8:31 PM with the headline "Baker still earning everything as a Dust Devil."