Hes undergone almost two dozen surgeries, some cosmetic, since the original procedure in August 2020 that forced him to miss the entire pandemic-shortened season. And if he does, it would make him the longest tenured public address announcer in MLB history. The Phillies took Baker and his wife Cathy to Houston as their guests. If you speak too fast, the fans wont understand what you are saying.. A double, a single, then a throwing error on a stolen base. Dan Baker couldnt have hand-picked a better year to celebrate his 50th season as the in-stadium voice of the Philadelphia Phillies. Between that and daily antibiotics that hes getting in an IV in his right arm, the hope is that the infection will be eliminated altogether. There was also no Dan Baker, the ubiquitous public address announcer, synonymous with Phillies home games for a half-century. First published on April 8, 2022 / 7:24 AM. If youve got like a mission in life, it really helps to motivate you and you can put aside any aches and pains or health issues. He does this with aspiring broadcasters who show interest in the craft. Some defensive statistics Copyright Sports Info Solutions, 2010-2023. 6-3 , 190lb (190cm, 86kg) Born: March 24, 2000 (Age: 22-340d) in Montgomery, AL us. But Baker has done it for 50 years with his pronounced style. Baker never publicized his health issuesbecause he didnt want to be a source of sorrow for Phillies fans. The moment he cannot enunciate how he expects to enunciate, Baker has said hell know it is time. He once took some of his students to a Phillies game as a reward for good behavior and work. He missed only six games last month. The average salary for a baker in St. Louis County, MO is $29,000 per year. Wanna follow Dan Baker (PA announcer)'s net worth? Baker told CBS3 he has no plans to retire any time soon. The voice was a new one to Phillies fans. Just being at the games. 34, right fielder Bryce Harper!" Close your eyes and you can hear Baker carefully enunciating each word before emoting the player's name, which is especially true whenever a superstar like . He returned a year ago as eager and enthusiastic as ever. Bakers latest scan, hes happy to share, was cancer-free. We also had some fun and had Dan announce our "walk-ups" as if we were on the Phillies. Organist Paul Richardson was in an adjacent booth. With a blue felt-tip pen, he makes note of names that need checking on the 5x7 index cards he numbers in sequence. They all get crazy. A battle with cancer wiped out the pandemic-shortened 30 home game 2020 season for him. They were played in front of 45,000 empty seats. All rights reserved. It wasnt too bad, Baker said, although he cant hear every single sound in his glass booth. The Phillies had Willie Montanez, No. The stadium voice of the Phillies and . Baker's voice spans multiple sports and stadiums in South Philadelphia. Ephraim is where I really developed my love of baseball and the Phillies, he explained. If you noticed, I threw in an apology, said Baker, who is in strong contention for most polite man in Philadelphia sports, all-time. Dan Baker, longest tenured PA announcer in Major League Baseball, on the field at Citizens Bank Park before . Do you have a sports website? During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Phillies public address announcer was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer. His thing is always an understated part of a Phillies show, that voice providing a familiar, carefully-enunciated in-person soundtrack since long before any current players were born. Choate has no formal voice training. Baker's duties are similar to those he had as the public address announcer for the Eagles, which include energizing the crowd with his signature calls. Baker stayed away from the game for the 2020 season because of health problems. I love it here so much. Be authentic, Baker told him, and authentic in Choates mind was incorporating a nod to Baker. So Im not out of the screaming and shouting school. Im 76, so theres not too many people older than me in the ballpark. Try a week on us. He underwent a 24-hour surgery to remove a tumor in his sinus in mid-August. It energizes me being back here doing this again. Dan Baker is the longest-tenured public address announcer in Major League Baseball. One he recalls happened in the mid-1970s. Doctors took bone tissue from his leg and transplanted it in his face. Early life [ edit] Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Baker grew up in Mount Ephraim, New Jersey, and graduated from Audubon High School. I met my wife here. Two children had worked at the ballpark during college both born in World Series years.. "I don't intend to walk away before we win a couple more World Series," Baker said. PA Announcer Dan Baker Set to Celebrate 50 Years as Voice of Philadelphia Phillies During 2022 MLB Season - Sports Illustrated Inside The Phillies Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports Dan. Baker had the franchise's full support. Dan Baker couldn't have hand-picked a better year to celebrate his 50th season as the in-stadium voice of the Philadelphia Phillies. Dan Baker. Phillies games at Citizens Bank Park in 2020 were unlike any other. My gosh. We sat right behind Bobby Abreu. The Phillies have been so encouraging and supportive through this process," Baker said. I feel very proud.. Dan Baker is a Philadelphia broadcasting legend best known as the voice of Veterans Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field and Citizens Bank Park. According to the latest Twitter stat on 2023-02-23, Dan Baker (PA announcer) has a total favourites count of 1582 on the Twitter account and Dan Baker (PA announcer) has 12.1 Thousand followers on the same Twitter account. At age 25, Baker began living his dream. I was so proud and so touched by the outpouring of affection, by the sincerity, and the kind remarks that were made by Mike Schmidt, Larry Bowa, Greg Luzinski, Jay Wright, Fran Dunphy, Bruiser Flint and Phil Martelli, Baker explained. Im a preacher of the type of PA announcing that you have to make sure that you speak accurately, Baker said. Ephraim, N.J., with my family at the age of 7 in 1954. He believed, fully. At the time, doctors replaced his cheekbone with bone and tissue from the lower half of his left leg. Baker has not forgotten how he began his 50-year run. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. On Friday, the Phillies host the Oakland Athletics in interleague baseball in their home opener. Did Baker hear the boos from the concourse? For the past half century, Phillies fans have heard one voice at the ballpark. Hes seen some things, heard some things. 2021 The Philadelphia Sports Writers Association, The Philadelphia Sports Writers Association, Jalen Hurts is PSWA Pro Athlete of the Year. Charlie Manuel, 780-636, .551 W-L%, 2022 Phillies Some high school data is courtesy David McWater. Dan Baker has been the public address announcer at Citizens Bank Park for a generation. "As long as I can talk well, as long as god blesses me with good health, as long as the Phillies will have me, I would like to continue doing the PA announcing.". He missed the last homestand at Citizens Bank Park because he had to have the infected bone drilled down and replaced with skin from his left arm. It was humid. He was 97 when he retired [announced his last game], Baker said of Sheppard. The familiar voice of Dan Baker, one of the friendliest human beings to ever inhabit this planet, was also absent. In the same way that many people of a certain age grew up saying the names of Phillies stars in a Harry Kalas-esque voice, if youve watched the team over the last half century, its impossible not to think of how Baker introduced them as they walked to the plate. He needed another complex surgery one that lasted 12 1/2 hours on July 15. In many ways, this might be Bakers own personal greatest World Series feat, although he prides himself on not playing favorites, with Phillies eras or players. Re-al-muto!, Thats what you live for, Baker said. There wasnt much idle time. Copyright 2023 WPVI-TV. Dan Baker (born September 22, 1946) is an American public address announcer best known for many years as the voice of Veterans Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, and Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia . When the Phillies won their first-ever World Series in 1980 across the street at the Vet oh my goodness, Baker said. (Reading, PA) - The Reading Fightin Phils are pleased to host 'Fightin Cancer' Night at FirstEnergy Stadium on Wednesday, May 25th. His careers overlapped for almost a decade. Tuesday night, Baker did his thing as Citizens Bank Park rose toward another pregame fever pitch, his voice almost drowned out as Baker began a recitation of the Phillies World Series Game 3 starters. His pace is a bit slower as one might expect for a 75-year-old. The job is difficult it requires late nights and fierce attention to detail. This is almost like a fairytale existence. Baker co-hosts a radio show on WBCB (AM) 1490 called "Bull Session" with former Philadelphia Phillies slugger Greg Luzinski, for whom the show is named. ), READ MORE: Bryce Harpers legend grows as he homers on first World Series pitch he sees at Citizens Bank Park. When asked how much longer he plans on announcing, he was ready with an answer. But in many ways, hes one of the many faces of the Phillies. Somebody that I heard speaking my entire life.. For years, missed games were rare. Baker even had the chance to shadow Sheppard considered the GOAT of PA announcers by many early in his career. After writing letters to the Phillies and chatting with club officials, he landed an interview with Bill Giles, then the teams vice president, business operations. For the first time in his life, Choate was sitting in the stands at a home Phillies game and Dan Bakers voice did not fill the ballpark. He spoke with NBC10's Frances Wang about his legendary career. As the world inches toward normalcy in 2021, Phillies games are being played in front of fans again. Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free. Hes not denying they are loud. Because there are a lot of people that are confronted with more challenging health issues than me. And lucky are Phillies fans who have received the gift of his enthusiastic voice for the last 50 seasons! (Giles) was one of the foremost showmen in the history of Major League Baseball and the only person you could rank ahead of him was Bill Veeck, Baker explained. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. He began a teaching career with fifth and sixth grades at Landreth Elementary School in Philadelphia. When the Phillies moved to Citizens Bank Park, the same routine would apply pregame and in-game. 53, right fielder, Bobby Abreu!, Now batting for the Phillies, No. Baker has leaned on the elocution lessons his mother and father stressed when he was young. Justin Choate, left, with Dan Baker. The record shows it was the home opener on a Monday night, April 1972. And thats just the way it is. There are others like him Philly kids who listened to Baker, who wanted to be Baker, who imitate Baker. Find out more. In this particular game, Cole Hamels is in a jam, with runners on first and second and one out. Four years earlier, Baker graduated from Glassboro State College with a degree in Junior High School education. With that announcement, Dan Baker became the voice of Phillies games at Veterans Stadium. I can just sit in the stands and enjoy everything that baseball offers.. Along the way, the Phillies celebrated Bakers remarkable longevity with the franchise, which also marks the third-longest public address announcing career in Major League Baseball history. When Baker announces next season, his 50th, he will become just the third MLB public address announcer to reach that level of longevity. Depending upon the length of the elevator ride, hes miss one or two batters. 12, second baseman, Mickey Morandini!, Now batting for the Phillies, No. The events are billed as "Summer Nights with Dan Baker". Baker, who has battled cancer and seen and heard almost everything during his tenure as the Phillies' PA announcer, is working his sixth World Series. Though the Phillies and Eagles left Veterans Stadium for new venues (the Eagles to Lincoln Financial Field in 2003 and the Phillies to Citizens Bank Park in 2004), Baker remained the PA announcer for both teams. You talk about paying it forward; he took an interest in a younger person. Cassidy later became the director of stadium operations for the Phillies. He is paying it forward. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Bob Sheppard was the voice of Yankee Stadium for 56 years. Hes always felt that his role, as part of the experience of going to a game, is to be part of the happiness, the ease of mind you feel, casting thoughts and worries aside for a few hours. src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=674090812743125&ev=PageView&noscript=1"/>. Seated next to Baker was the scoreboard director, Chris Wheeler. Since I used to do public address announcing for these daredevil automobile shows (1969-71), and put a lot of excitement into those types of performances, that appealed to Bill Giles. let us know if you find any errors, updates, or corrections, Scores from any date in Major League history, Minor, Foreign, College, & Black Baseball, Frequently Asked Questions about MLB and Baseball, Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREE. The jobs, for most, are seasonal side gigs. Baker has been with the Phillies since 1972, their second season at Veterans Stadium. This is my sixth World Series.

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