California Golden Bears Athletics
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Jersey Number 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
Accolades
At Cal
2021 (Sr.)
High School
Personal
- 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
- 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)
- 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
- 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
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
Monday, July 15
Tuesday, February 06
Thursday, May 25
Sunday, May 21
