2021 Baseball Roster

Rob Edwards/klcfotos
Kelley L Cox/KLC fotos
Kelley L Cox/KLC fotos
Robert Edwards/KLC fotos
Rob Edwards/klcfotos
Kelley Cox/klcfotos
Robert Edwards/klcfotos

2 Darren Baker

  • Position Infield
  • Class Senior
  • Height/Weight 6-0 / 180
  • Bat/Throw L/R
  • Hometown Granite Bay, Calif.
  • High School Jesuit HS
  • Major American Studies
  • Twitter DarrenBaker_2
  • Instagram __darrenbaker

Biography

Accolades
  • 2x MLB First-Year Player Draft selection (2021 - 10th round, Washington; 2017 - 27th round, Washington)
  • Tom Hansen Pac-12 Conference Medal recipient (2021)
  • Senior CLASS Award First Team All-American (2021)
  • Senior CLASS Award finalist (2021)
  • ABCA All-West Region Second Team (2021)
  • All-Pac-12 First Team (2021)
  • 2x Pac-12 All-Defensive Team (2019, 2021)
  • Baseball America Preseason All-American (Third Team, 2B) (2021)
  • 2x Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award Watch List (2020, 2021)
  • Perfect Game Preseason All-Pac-12 Team (2020)
  • Cape Cod League All-Star Game selection (2019)
At Cal
2021 (Sr.)
  • Rounded out a decorated collegiate career with his best individual season as a Golden Bear, earning All-Pac-12 Team & Pac-12 All-Defensive Team honors
  • Posted career-highs in batting average (.327), runs (44), hits (73), walks (28), on-base percentage (.402) & stolen bases (28)
  • One of two Bears to start all 55 games played & ended his collegiate career with 123 consecutive starts dating back to his sophomore season
  • Was the only NCAA Division I player with 159+ defensive assists & a fielding percentage of .988 (committed just three errors in 249 chances)
  • Was Cal's male recipient of the Tom Hansen Pac-12 Conference Medal, earned by student-athletes who exhibit “the greatest combination of performance and achievement in scholarship, athletics and leadership”
  • One of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award, given annually to an NCAA Division I senior with notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition
  • Reached base safely in 54 of 55 games, including 37 straight to start the season (42-game reached-base streak dating back to March 4, 2020)
  • His 28 stolen bases ranked eighth in the nation at the conclusion of the regular season
  • Led Cal with 22 multi-hit games & reached the 200-hit milestone for his career on March 28 vs. #10 Oregon
  • Batted .310 with 36 hits, 20 runs & 16 stolen bases in Pac-12 play
  • Took it to another level in the month of May as Cal made a late-season push for a postseason berth, batting .364 (24-for-66) in 16 games
  • Scored the walk-off run three times: vs. Pacific (Feb. 19), vs. USC (April 2) & vs. #12 Stanford (May 15)
  • Named to 2021 Baseball America Preseason All-America Third Team (second base)
  • Repeat selection to the Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award Watch List
*** 2020 (Jr.)
  • Started all 16 games at second base & led Cal in hits (18) & at bats (63)
  • Batted .286 & scored a team-high 15 runs
  • Tallied five RBI, four stolen bases, seven walks & two extra-base hits (one double, one triple)
  • Posted an on-base percentage of .366 & slugging percentage of .333
  • Recorded a team-leading 34 defensive assists & posted a .982 fielding percentage with just one error over 57 chances
  • Led the Bears with five multi-hit performances, including a 3-for-4 effort vs. No. 10 Michigan (March 4)
  • Ripped his triple in Cal's midweek win over Stanford (Feb. 25)
  • Had a hot start to the season with four games of at least two hits & two runs scored over a five-game span (Feb. 16-23)
2019 (So.)
  • Developed into one of conference's premier defenders as a sophomore, garnering a spot on Pac-12 All-Defensive Team
  • Batted in spots No. 1, 2, 5 & 6 of the order & hit .306 with four doubles, one triple & 19 RBI
  • Had a stellar summer with Cape Code League's Wareham Gatemen, earning spot in all-star game & finishing fourth in league batting race
  • Slashed .342/.384/.376 in summer for Wareham Gatemen 
  • Swiped a perfect 21 bases on 21 attempts for Cal, finishing second in the Pac-12
  • One of four Cal players to start all 52 games
  • Made just six errors over the final 48 games of the season
2018 (Fr.)
  • Consistent contributor as a true freshman, starting 42 games as the Bears' primary second baseman
  • Batted .273 with six doubles, one home run, 29 runs, 23 RBI & five stolen bases
  • Hit a walk-off home run vs. Brown (March 10)
  • Had 16 multi-hit performances, including four three-hit efforts vs. Xavier, UC Davis, Utah & Washington State
  • One of Pac-12's best defenders, compiling a .983 fielding percentage with just three errors on the season
*** 2020 season shortened due to COVID-19 pandemic.
High School
  • Graduated from Jesuit High School (Carmichael, Calif.)
  • Drafted by Washington Nationals in 27th round of 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft, but did not sign
  • Was Jesuit's Most Outstanding Team Player & Most Outstanding Defensive Player as a senior in 2017
  • Decorated prep athlete, earning honors such as All-Delta League First Team, All-Metro First Team & All-City First Team
  • Slashed .396/.476/.960 as a senior
  • Named California All-Region First Team by Perfect Game, All-State Second Team by MaxPreps & All-California Second Team by USA Today as a senior
  • Slashed .386/.448/.884 in 30 games as a junior & was an All-Delta League Second Team & All-Metro Honorable Mention pick
  • Member of 2016 Oakland Athletics Area Code Team
  • 2016 Perfect Game All-American Second Team selection
  • Member of 2013 USA Baseball 14U National Team Development program
  • Two-time member of USA Baseball Northern California NTIS program
  • Played summer ball for NorCal Baseball
  • Played for DC Grays of the Cal Ripken League in the summer of 2017
Personal
  • Full name is Darren John Baker
  • Born on Feb. 11, 1999
  • Native of Granite Bay, Calif.
  • Son of Dusty & Melissa Baker
  • Father, Dusty, is one of the most recognizable personalities in Major League Baseball after a 19-year playing career & tremendously successful run as a manager. Father hit .278 with 242 home runs, 1,013 RBIs and 137 stolen bases for the Braves, Dodgers, Giants and A's. In 22 years as a manager with the Giants, Cubs, Reds and Nationals, owned over 1,800 wins and a .532 winning percentage
  • Has one sibling, Natosha
  • Enjoys listening to music, watching movies, fishing & playing video games

Statistics

Season:
2021

Season Statistics

Season Statistics

No statistics available for this season.

Career Statistics

There are no statistics available for this player.

Historical Player Information

  • 2

    2018Freshman

    Infield
    5'11" 153 lbs
    2
  • 2

    2019Sophomore

    Infield
    6'0" 175 lbs
    2
  • 2

    2020Junior

    Infield
    6'0" 175 lbs
    2
  • 2

    2021Senior

    Infield
    6'0" 180 lbs
    2