By Rob Rains
MEMPHIS – It’s been six years since Luken Baker played baseball at TCU but some advice he received back then has helped him get through what could be considered a frustrating time in his career with the Cardinals.
Despite hitting the most home runs in the minor leagues since the start of the 2023 season, 64, Baker is seemingly blocked at Triple A as he waits for an opportunity to rejoin the major-league club.
“There’s no reason to make yourself mad,” said Baker, who hit his 31st homer of this season on Saturday. “If I were to sit here and focus on all of the things that weren’t happening, I wouldn’t be able to focus on all of the good things that are happening.
“I am having a pretty good year. I’m around people I enjoy being around and I get to play baseball every day. It’s hard to be mad at that.”
“Brian used to say, ‘compared to what?’” Baker said. “Whenever you were having a rough day, he would say, ‘it’s rough compared to what?’ Compared to a lot of things, playing baseball is a lot better than that.”
Still, it’s not as good as it could be if Baker was in the major leagues instead of playing his third full season in Memphis, where he broke the franchise home run record earlier this year and has now hit 85 home runs, including leading all of the minor leagues last season with 33.
That hasn’t been enough to get him more than a brief stay in the majors, making three trips up to the Cardinals last season, playing in 33 games and hitting two home runs.
Baker was the International League MVP last year and hit for a much higher average (.334) than his current mark of .233, but the power and RBIs (76) still place him at or near the top of the league in both categories.
He is doing all he knows how to do to try to convince the Cardinals, or maybe even another team, that he deserves a chance to see how he could perform if given regular playing time in the majors.
Since he is limited to playing either first base or as the DH because of his 6-foot-4, 285-pound frame, that isn’t a possibility with the Cardinals right now, where Paul Goldschmidt is still anchored at first.
“It’s frustrating when you are controlling the things you can control and sometimes it feels like it doesn’t matter,” Baker said. “It is what it is. Fortunately, more so than others, I can keep coming to play baseball. That’s my job and what I get to do every day so I enjoy that. I just have to keep doing what I’m doing.
“There’s only so many places to go. There’s a lot of good players in this organization. There’s a lot of good players in the big leagues. Sometimes that’s just the way it is.
“The only thing else to do is keep doing it. It’s one thing to say, ‘he did it once.’ This year hasn’t been as successful, but as long as I keep doing it well …”
Baker doesn’t have to complete the sentence.
“I keep coming to the park every day and doing everything I can to get better and something is going to happen,” he said. “Something, somewhere, somehow. You never know when it’s going to happen. You can’t predict it.”
Despite Baker’s batting average not being as high as it was last year, Memphis manager Ben Johnson has not lost any confidence in his first baseman’s ability.
“He’s still the guy you want up right now when the game is on the line,” Johnson said. “He’s producing, both in power and in production.”
That was what Baker did in college as well, part of what the Cardinals liked about him as they scouted and evaluated him before the 2018 amateur draft.
“I’m doing the things I’m supposed to do”
Ty Boyles was the Cardinals’ Midwest regional cross checker that year and he still remembers going to TCU that spring to watch a game against Oklahoma.
The Sooners’ big prospect that year was Kyler Murray, who ended up being drafted ninth overall by Oakland but decided to play in the NFL instead of playing baseball.
“I remember Kyler hitting a ball off the scoreboard, and I remember in the same game Luken turning a ball around with equal exit velocity,” Boyles said. “It almost took the leftfielder down.
Boyles has watched Baker for a long time. He was with the USA Baseball program when Baker played for the national teams while in high school, being recognized in 2015 as the national player of the year by Gatorade.
Baker turned down chances to go pro after high school, instead heading to TCU, and the Cardinals selected him in the second round of the 2018 draft, the 75th overall pick.
He’s been hitting home runs ever since.
Even with the cancelation of the 2020 minor-league season because of Covid, Baker has hit 125 home runs in 570 minor-league games.
“The things I’ve been working on for all these years, they’re working out,” Baker said, “driving the ball well, hitting the ball out of the ballpark. I’m doing the things I’m supposed to do.
“Baseball is hard sometimes, but’s it’s also the same game here as it is there (the majors). Really what I’ve learned is at the plate, sticking to the approach that I know to have, that I’ve been successful with.
“When things are going bad there’s always something to learn, and when things are going good there’s always something to learn too.”
One of the reasons that Baker has been able to remain focused and grounded about his situation is the help of his wife, Linda, whom he met at TCU. The couple is expecting their first child in October.
“She’s gotten me better at leaving the baseball at the field,” he said. “Whether it’s a good day or a bad day it shouldn’t change who you are when you get home every day.”
When he is at the field, Baker – now 27 – knows he has a lot of information to offer to some of his younger teammates. Two who have leaned on him for advice and suggestions this season are Jordan Walker, who the Cardinals recalled on Monday following an injury to Matt Carpenter, and Thomas Saggese.
“He’s one of the best teammates you could possibly ask for,” Walker said over the weekend. “He’s positive in the dugout, positive in the locker room. He will give you tips anytime. You can talk to him and he will tell you what he sees. Anything you need from him, he’s always there. I love watching him hit.”
Added Saggese, “He’s definitely helped me in numerous ways. He’s kind of helped me learn the game a little bit more, showing me what his routine is, how he goes about his business. He works really hard.
“I’m always asking him stuff about what to expect. He’s been great.”
Baker is happy to share what he knows, and he believes having a positive attitude – even if it is hard sometimes – can play a big role in a player’s success.
“I feel like I can set an example for other younger guys on the team,” Baker said. “It’s another thing to try to do every day. It helps me too in that I can prepare better, I can work better. That’s part of the focus.”
“It definitely feels like it’s been a long time”
Baker’s first game in Memphis was on Sept. 30, 2021, promoted after hitting 26 home runs at Double A Springfield. He played in the final two games of that season.
“It definitely feels like it’s been a long time,” Baker said. “I know all of the spots I like to go to and don’t like to go to. I’ve been in that clubhouse a few years that’s for sure.”
Baker even had to endure getting his truck stolen a year ago. It was later found, but it had been torn up, resulting in an insurance claim. He has had no such problems this season.
A much more enjoyable part of last season were the three times he was called up to the Cardinals. He stayed for 15 days the first time in June; for 13 days after his second promotion in July, and then remained for the rest of the year when he was called up on Aug. 12.
Baker started 23 games and hit his first two of what he hopes will one day be many major-league home runs.
The lessons Baker learned in St. Louis are still part of his work and preparation now and what he hopes will lead to another call to the majors.
“After I got called up the first couple of times I had a couple of pinch-hit opportunities and I really didn’t know how to approach them,” Baker said. “I had never pinch-hit before in my life. After I came back down here, I was talking with Ben Johnson about it and he said, ‘Look even a bad plan is better than no plan; go up and commit to a plan and you will find success.’
“The next time I went back up we were in Atlanta and they brought in a lefty and I went up and pinch-hit with a plan and got my first pinch-hit. I’ve had one pinch-hit at-bat here and I went up with a plan and hit the first pinch-hit home run of my life.”
The Cardinals’ pinch-hitters this season have a combined eight hits in 69 at-bats, and other than Tommy Pham’s pinch-hit grand slam they have one RBI from a righthanded pinch-hitter, a sacrifice fly from Ivan Herrera.
“Everybody wants to go up and play but at the same time there are roles to play that can help a team win,” Baker said. “I learned that last year, getting my first taste of pinch-hitting and coming off the bench. I feel like that experience last year prepared me for whatever else I do in my baseball career.”
Baker knows his career could be approaching a crossroads. Even though there is a long history of players finding success in the majors who were older than Baker when they were called up, Baker knows his clock is ticking while he waits for another chance.
“The age factor is always there,” Baker said. “The game is getting younger and younger and I’m getting older. But it does happen. I just have to keep my foot on the gas, trying to get better every day.”
Because Baker is on the Cardinals’ 40-man roster, he is not eligible to become a six-year minor-league free agent after this season. He knows that could happen at some point in the future, as could potential opportunities to go play in Japan or South Korea.
“If I go back up there I will have a little clearer picture of what my role is and what I’m going to do every day,” Baker said. “I feel like I’m a lot better equipped to prepare and perform in that role and not having to navigate how I am supposed to go about my day-to-day stuff.
“This game is a lot more mental than it is anything else. The better head space you are in, the better outlook you have on things, usually the better you do.
“I try not to think too much beyond what I’m doing today. We have a game to play, and I’m going to prepare for the game and try to have a good day and help us win a ballgame.”
It’s an attitude that Johnson, his manager, finds refreshing.
“From someone who has been in the game for a while, I admire players who can do that,” Johnson said. “It’s not easy to do. He comes in every day with the right mindset and gets his work in.
“It’s a tough game. He continues to stay positive and I admire him for it, and I know his teammates do as well.”
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains
Photos courtesy of Memphis Redbirds
