Growing up a Philadelphia Phillies fan in the 1950s, Dan Baker went to games with his father and brother at Connie Mack Stadium. That was when he was introduced to the sights, smells and sounds of baseball.
His passion for the game would never go away. In fact, he would later secure a job with the Phillies in 1972 as their public address announcer at then-Veterans Stadium and now Citizens Bank Park.
As Phillies fans return to Citizens Bank Park on Thursday, so will Dan Baker.
Baker, 74, but he recently shared on social media that he is excited to return for Opening Day on Thursday.
The 2021 season marks the 50th milestone season for Baker in his role with the Phillies. Although, he told The Philadelphia Inquirer in January that he considers it his 49th — since he could not work any games last year due to health concerns.
“I just love the job so much. It’s so much fun. When I got this, I knew I loved it. I knew I found a home,” Baker told me back in a fall 2015 interview. “If the Phillies will have me, and my health holds out — and I’m in pretty good health — I’m hoping to do it for at least another six years so that I would do it for 50.”
Fast-forward to Opening Day 2021, Baker has now reached the half-century mark. He takes pride in being the longest-tenured public address announcer in Major League Baseball, a distinction he has enjoyed since Bob Sheppard, formerly of the New York Yankees, retired after the 2007 season.
According to Baker, only two other public address announcers in the majors have announced a team’s games for 50 years or more — Sheppard (1951-2007, 57 years) and Pat Pieper of the Chicago Cubs (1916-1974, 59).
Baker’s next career milestone that he looks forward to — along with calling at least one more World Series — is the 2026 All-Star Game. “I had the privilege of doing the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in 1976 and 1996,” Baker told me in 2015.
“It’s sure been a lot of fun, but I remain a big fan and always will be.”