Rufus Baker
Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records
Rufus Baker was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball for the New York Black Yankees. In 151 career games, he hit .199 with 91 hits and 26 RBI. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
- Position
- Shortstop
- Bats / Throws
- — / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'7" / 152 lb
- Died
- 6/22/1992 in Bridgeport, CT, USA
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 151 | 458 | 54 | 91 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 26 | 9 | 47 | 1 | .199 | .278 | .240 | .518 | -1,723 |
Career AVG .199 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 23.6% below league average.
Career OBP .278 vs. league average .331 across their career seasons — 16.1% below league average.
Career SLG .240 vs. league average .362 across their career seasons — 33.7% below league average.
Career OPS .518 vs. league average .693 across their career seasons — 25.3% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 | NBY | NN2 | 31 | 101 | 15 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 0 | .208 | .255 (-19%) | .324 (-1%) | .346 (-26%) | .671 (-14%) | -164.3 |
| 1944 | NBY | NN2 | 15 | 47 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | .234 | — | — | — | — | -75.9 |
| 1945 | NBY | NN2 | 25 | 83 | 17 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 0 | .205 | .260 (-22%) | .328 (-14%) | .354 (-25%) | .683 (-20%) | -247.9 |
| 1946 | NBY | NN2 | 31 | 85 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 0 | .165 | .256 (-36%) | .328 (-31%) | .358 (-54%) | .687 (-43%) | -547.0 |
| 1947 | NBY | NN2 | 29 | 86 | 7 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 0 | .186 | .262 (-29%) | .336 (-24%) | .376 (-35%) | .712 (-30%) | -417.3 |
| 1948 | NBY | NN2 | 20 | 56 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .214 | .263 (-19%) | .340 (-25%) | .379 (-34%) | .719 (-30%) | -270.4 |
| Career · 6 seasons | 151 | 458 | 54 | 91 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 26 | 9 | 47 | 1 | .199 | — | — | — | — | -1,723 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | NBY | NN2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 1 season | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | — | 0 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (149 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 41 | 117 | 7 | 28 | 0 | 2 | .239 |
| Away | 106 | 308 | 43 | 58 | 0 | 4 | .188 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Away | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948-09-05 | NY5 | NW2 | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-09-05 | NY5 | NW2 | W | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-08-08 | NY5 | HOM | L | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-08-08 | NY5 | HOM | L | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-07-29 | NY5 | PH5 | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-07-27 | NY5 | PH5 | L | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-07-26 | NY5 | NY6 | W | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1948-07-25 | NY5 | NY6 | W | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-07-18 | NY5 | BLG | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-07-18 | NY5 | BLG | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last 2 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948-05-21 | NY5 | NW2 | — | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-05-16 | NY5 | BLG | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2B | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 3B | 14 | 9 | 13 | 25 | 4 | 0 |
| C | 34 | 25 | 99 | 25 | 6 | 0 |
| OF | 47 | 41 | 86 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SS | 58 | 53 | 105 | 147 | 24 | 13 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 | NBY | 3B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 1943 | NBY | SS | 29 | 29 | 57 | 76 | 14 | 5 |
| 1944 | NBY | C | 3 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1944 | NBY | SS | 13 | 10 | 27 | 36 | 5 | 4 |
| 1945 | NBY | 3B | 8 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| 1945 | NBY | C | 1 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945 | NBY | OF | 11 | 8 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945 | NBY | SS | 7 | 7 | 13 | 21 | 5 | 3 |
| 1946 | NBY | 2B | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1946 | NBY | 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| 1946 | NBY | C | 10 | 8 | 27 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 1946 | NBY | OF | 15 | 14 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1946 | NBY | SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947 | NBY | C | 7 | 2 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947 | NBY | OF | 20 | 18 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947 | NBY | P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947 | NBY | SS | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948 | NBY | C | 13 | 11 | 42 | 12 | 5 | 0 |
| 1948 | NBY | OF | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948 | NBY | SS | 6 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 1 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 1 |
| Catcher | 34 |
| Second Base | 1 |
| Third Base | 14 |
| Shortstop | 58 |
| Left Field | 21 |
| Center Field | 19 |
| Right Field | 7 |
Rufus Baker: the record in brief
Rufus Baker's record on this page is drawn from the season tables, which run from 1943 to 1948. All of the seasons listed were played for the New York Black Yankees. Born on September 20, 1918, in Bridgeport, CT, USA, Baker is listed as a shortstop. Size on record: 5-foot-7 and 152 pounds. Baker died on June 22, 1992, in Bridgeport, CT, USA.
The batting record for Baker: 151 games, 91 hits in 458 at bats, and a .199 average, along with 26 runs batted in. Baker got on base at a .278 rate and slugged .240 (.518 OPS). Baker's .199 average ran 23.6% below the .260 that the league posted over the same seasons. The highest hit total in a season was 21, in 1943. Even the best average among the busiest seasons, .208 in 1943, did not top the league's .255. In none of the compared seasons from 1943 to 1948 did Baker top the league batting average.
Frequently Asked Questions about Rufus Baker
- Was Rufus Baker a pitcher?
- No. Rufus Baker was a position player (Shortstop), though he did pitch in 1 career game.
- How many home runs did Rufus Baker hit?
- Rufus Baker hit 0 career home runs with 91 hits.
- What was Rufus Baker's career batting average?
- Rufus Baker batted .199 over his career, with 91 hits in 458 at bats.
- How many RBI did Rufus Baker have?
- Rufus Baker drove in 26 runs in his career.
- What was Rufus Baker's career ERA?
- Rufus Baker finished with a 0.00 career ERA, going 0-0 with 1 strikeouts.
- Is Rufus Baker in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Rufus Baker has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.