Phyllis J. Baker [Wise] was a pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

 who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was a women's professional baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. During the league's history, over 600 women played ball.-History:...

. Listed at 5' 8", 155 lb., she batted and threw right handed.

A native of Marshall, Michigan

Marshall, Michigan

Marshall is a city located in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 7,459. It is the county seat of Calhoun County...

, Phyllis Baker began playing sandlot ball

Sandlot ball

Sandlot ball is a North American adolescent game that generally follows the basic rules of baseball. More specific rules can be set for games and may vary each time the game is played. These rules are usually agreed upon before the game begins by teams of young boys or girls usually from the same...

 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

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...

 and her favorite player was Al Kaline

Al Kaline

Albert William "Al" Kaline is a former Major League Baseball right fielder. He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Kaline played his entire 22-year baseball career with the Detroit Tigers. Kaline still works for the Tigers as a front office official. Because of his lengthy career and...

.

One evening in 1952, her brother Bud watched the Battle Creek Belles

Battle Creek Belles

The Battle Creek Belles were a women's professional baseball team that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...

 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

Marshall High School (Michigan)

Marshall High School is a high school in the Marshall Public Schools District in Marshall, Michigan.-Sports teams:Marshall uses the fictitious Redhawk as its mascot. The former mascot was the Redskin, but it was changed due to respect for Native Americans and their spiritual beliefs...

. In 1953 the team was moved to Muskegon, Michigan

Muskegon, Michigan

Muskegon is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 38,401. The city is the county seat of Muskegon County...

 where they became the Muskegon Belles

Muskegon Belles

The Muskegon Belles were a women's professional baseball team that played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the season....

.

Baker posted a 7-12 record and a 3.21 earned run average

Earned run average

In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

 in 28 pitching appearances for Muskegon, who finished 39-70 out of contention. During the midseason she hurled a one-hit shutout

Shutout

In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....

 against the strong Fort Wayne Daisies

Fort Wayne Daisies

The Fort Wayne Daisies were a women's professional baseball team that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...

, managed by Bill Allington

Bill Allington

William Baird Allington was an American Minor league baseball player and manager. Listed at 5' 9" , 160 lb., Allington batted and threw right-handed. He was born in St. Clair County, Michigan....

, facing a lineup

Batting order (baseball)

The batting order, or batting lineup, in baseball is the sequence in which the nine members of the offense take their turns in batting against the pitcher. The batting order is the main component of a team's offensive strategy. The batting order is set by the manager before the game begins...

 boosted by sluggers as Wilma Briggs

Wilma Briggs

Wilma Briggs [Briggsie] is a former female left fielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 4", 138 lb., she batted left-handed and threw right-handed....

, Betty Foss

Betty Foss

Betty Foss [Fossey] was a infielder and outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 10", 180 lb., she was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. She started her career as Betty Weaver but changed her last name to Foss after marrying...

, Jean Geissinger

Jean Geissinger

Jean Louise Geissinger-Harding [″Dutch″] is a former infielder and outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League for the Fort Wayne Daisies and Grand Rapids Chicks...

, Katie Horstman

Katie Horstman

Catherine Horstman [″Horsey″] is a former female utility who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...

 and Joanne Weaver

Joanne Weaver

Joanne Weaver [″Joltin' Jo″] was a right fielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...

. Daisies manager Allington was impressed with the performance of Baker, and considered her the best rookie pitching prospect in that season. In other game, Baker pitched into the eleventh inning and then hit an RBI

Run batted in

Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...

-single

Single (baseball)

In baseball, a single is the most common type of base hit, accomplished through the act of a batter safely reaching first base by hitting a fair ball and getting to first base before a fielder puts him out...

 in the bottom of the inning to win the game. At the end of the season the Belles folded, and Baker was sent to the South Bend Blue Sox

South Bend Blue Sox

The South Bend Blue Sox were a women's professional baseball team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...

.

South Bend finished in second place (48-44) in 1954, during what turned out to be the league's final season. The Blue Sox lost in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual champion Kalamazoo Lassies

Kalamazoo Lassies

The Kalamazoo Lassies were a team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team represented Kalamazoo, Michigan. Home games were initially played at Lindstrom Field, but later games were played at the Catholic Athletic Association Field, now the...

, two to one games. Baker had a 5-11 mark with a 4.81 ERA during the regular season, and was sent to Fort Wayne for the championship playoffs. She pitched two shutout-innings of relief in Game 3 and was credited with the win in a 8–7 victory over the Kalamazoo Lassies

Kalamazoo Lassies

The Kalamazoo Lassies were a team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team represented Kalamazoo, Michigan. Home games were initially played at Lindstrom Field, but later games were played at the Catholic Athletic Association Field, now the...

. Overall, she made three relief appearances and went 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA in 11 innings of work.

After the league folded, Baker returned to high school and graduated in 1955. She then worked for State Farm Insurance

State Farm Insurance

State Farm Insurance is a group of insurance and financial services companies in the United States. The company also has operations in Canada....

 company in Marshall, from where she retired in 1978.

Baker also played guard on the Kalamazoo Lassies basketball teams for four years, coached women's teams in Rice Creek league play, and work for a short time in Battle Creek. A cancer survivor, she continued to play fast pitch softball with a Kalamazoo team and various Marshall area teams util she was 48, usually pitching, but sometimes playing at first base or third base

Third Base

is a 1978 Japanese film directed by Yōichi Higashi.-External links:...

.

In 1961, she married Clifton Wise, a softball coach and former baseball player, and helped him coach Marshall High School Girl Redskin Softball teams for 13 years. They retired in 1993 and moved to Battle Creek, Michigan

Battle Creek, Michigan

Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Calhoun county...

, where she died at the age of 69.

Pitching statistics

GP Games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although exceptions are made if the pitcher announced in the starting lineup is injured before facing a batter, perhaps while...	W	L	W-L%	ERA Earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...	IP Innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...	H Hit (baseball) In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....	RA Run (baseball) In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...	ER Earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...	BB Base on balls A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...	SO Strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....	WHIP Walks plus hits per inning pitched In baseball statistics, walks plus hits per inning pitched is a sabermetric measurement of the number of baserunners a pitcher has allowed per inning pitched. It is a measure of a pitcher's ability to prevent batters from reaching base...
28	7	12	.368	3.21	188	161	84	67	88	36	1.32

Sources