Phyllis Baker

Phyllis J. Baker [Wise] (June 3, 1937 – July 11, 2006) was a pitcher who played from 1953 through 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m), 155 lb, she batted and threw right-handed.

A native of Marshall, Michigan, Phyllis Baker began playing sandlot ball with the neighborhood kids at a very early age, usually in the family yard next to the house at the corner. There was never a parental complaint about the occasional broken window or the ever-present noises, as she said in an interview. She grew up rooting for the Detroit Tigers and her favorite player was Al Kaline.

One evening in 1952, her brother Bud watched the Battle Creek Belles All-American Girls Professional Baseball team play in Battle Creek while his friend Sid announced the game. Bud talked to the public address announcer and went right home to Phyllis and told her she was good enough to play professional baseball, while adding that she needed to go over for a tryout. The 15-year-old girl went to a Belles tryout and was signed a contract, spending the year pitching batting practice while attending Marshall High School. In 1953 the team was moved to Muskegon, Michigan where they became the Muskegon Belles.