Angelo State University is located near the banks of the Concho River and surrounded by hundreds of miles of unforgiving Texas terrain. It’s also home to one the of the premier NCAA Division II baseball programs in the country.
The route there from Trent Baker’s hometown of Georgetown, Texas begins in the fertile green of the Blackland Prairie and ends 200 miles to the west, at the thorny edge of the Chihuahuan Desert.
The scenery is familiar to fans of Disney’s 2002 baseball film The Rookie – a portrayal of the true story of Jim Morris, an improbable 35-year-old rookie pitcher for the 1999 Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Morris is also the most famous professional baseball player to attend Angelo State University, though ironically, he did not play baseball for the Rams.
Baker won 32 games for Angelo State and set a Rams’ record with 299 career strikeouts. He led the program to the Division II World Series before the Cardinals selected him in the ninth round of the 2021 MLB amateur draft.
The Palm Beach Cardinals’ 23-year-old righthander hurled seven innings of two-hit baseball against the Jupiter Hammerheads on April 28 to record his first professional victory and earn Florida State League Pitcher of the Week honors.
“We wanted to pitch inside a lot,” Baker said during a telephone interview. “Being on the same page with the catcher, with the pitch clock and stuff, it’s really helpful with tempo and momentum with the hitters. I think working fast and having the game plan already set was really good.”
Palm Beach Cardinals’ Trent Baker pitches against Daytona on April 16 at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, Florida. Photo courtesy of Ryan Dowd/Blue Leprechaun Photography.
Baker needed only 87 pitches to record 21 outs and the game – an 8-1 Cardinals’ win – was completed in a tidy two-hours and twenty-one minutes.
“I used to be a slower guy, but I think (the pitch clock) helps me with my pitching – going at a little quicker tempo so I’ve adjusted just fine with it.”
Baker’s professional baseball journey bears little resemblance to the story of Jim Morris except perhaps for its’ improbability.
Baker was primarily a catcher until Georgetown High School coaches recognized his strong arm belonged on the mound. He attracted little attention from college scouts but his high school manager – Adam Foster – took an assistant coaching job at Angelo State and recruited Baker to join him there.
Speaking to the San Angelo Standard-Times last summer, Rams’ manager Kevin Brooks recalled Baker arrived on campus with a mid-80’s fastball and no breaking ball – but he was tall and could throw strikes.
Brooks wasted no time polishing the diamond in the rough.
“There was one scrimmage where, you know, I was just struggling – it was like freshman spring training for college,” Baker said. “I was struggling, and Coach Brooks walks out there, and he starts getting in my face telling me that ‘you gotta compete better’.
What happened next was reminiscent of a scene from the Disney classic.
“Next pitch is 94 (mph) and guys doing the gun and charts in the stands are like, ‘no way that just happened’. It was one of those moments where everything just clicked together and maybe getting (ticked)-off in that moment helped me take-off in my career.”
Rams’ pitching coach Travis Lawler – a former minor leaguer in the Cardinals’ organization – then went to work helping Baker refine his delivery.
“He tried to make me throw with my body instead of just my arm,” Baker said. “Started doing long-toss and using my legs more and all that stuff…my velo started going up and climbing.”
Baker posted a 4-4 mark with a 3.67 ERA in eight starts as a freshman, but he blossomed as a sophomore.
With Baker a 10-game winner and ace of the pitching staff, the Rams stormed to a 46-12 record and reached the 2019 South Central Super Regional. Baker threw 7.1 shut-out innings and struck out eight batters but the Rams’ dropped a 1-0 heartbreaker to Colorado Mesa in extra innings – falling one game short of a Division II World Series berth.
Baker enjoyed a strong start to his junior-year season in 2020 but the COVID-19 pandemic ended the Rams’ quest for a post-season run before it started.
“We were rolling, feeling so good and it was tough to have our season cut off like that,” Baker said. Unfortunately, COVID happened and, you know, it left a bitter taste in me, and I worked really hard that summer during the lockdowns and stuff to keep myself in shape.”
Minor league baseball was suspended that summer too and the disruption presented Baker, stuck at home in Texas, with a unique opportunity.
The Round Rock Express – Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros – were granted a temporary expansion team in the Texas Collegiate League, a summer wood bat league. The club decided to temporarily change its moniker to the Round Rock Hairy Men – a tribute to a Round Rock fable from the early 1800’s.
The name comes from the legend of Hairy Man Road – a young boy was separated from a pioneer band as they were fleeing a rising flood and years later, the tale says, travelers along the road frequently spotted a frightening “hairy man” that attacked anyone entering the area.
Baker collected four wins in five starts for the Round Rock Hairy Men in 2020 and one very special hat for the trophy case.
But it was summer ball in 2019 – as a pitcher for the Mankato MoonDogs of the Northwoods League – that Baker believes raised his profile among scouts.
“Northwoods is where I guess I was put on the radar, with scouts looking at me,” Baker said. “I think that’s where I got most exposure…where I’d have a chance at having a pro career.”
Baker’s performance as a senior at Angelo State in 2021 left little doubt of that.
The Texan went 13-1 with a 2.11 ERA and 120 strikeouts and the Rams at last reached the Division II World Series. Baker struck-out six batters in a 6-2 win over Wingate – the eventual National Champion – but the Rams’ season ended in the national semi-finals.
The Cardinals selected Baker with the 271st overall pick – one of seven pitchers the Cardinals picked in the first ten rounds.
“Pretty nerve-wracking, honestly,” Baker said recalling his emotions on draft day. “I was getting phone calls all the time, not knowing when and what was going to happen – I was pretty anxious. But when my name got called for the Cardinals, I was excited and relieved at the same time.”
Baker’s next scheduled start is May 10 at Fort Myers, and with all due respect to Jim Morris and Dennis Quaid, The Rookie probably won’t be his preferred pre-game viewing.
“I like my top three – it’s Bull Durham, Moneyball and For Love of the Game,” he said.
