Spotlight on: Sam Baker – Titans

MSL spoke to Sam Baker from the Titans team at the start of the season about baseball and captaining Titans.

You came to MSL from baseball?

I started playing baseball in my first year of uni really. So I come from cricket originally and I wanted something different when I went to uni so I signed up for baseball. I thought the skills were transferable and it turns out the skills are not transferable!

I’ve played cricket since primary school. Years and years ago now, so I still play a little bit. I grew up in Stockport. I’ve lived in Nottingham, lived in Leeds, and now I’m back in Manchester.

You played baseball at Nottingham Uni?

Yes, I also played for the Long Eaton Storm, one of the adult teams. Izzy, another Titan, played for the university team few years after me. I came back to Manchester when Kate got a job here. Kate’s my partner and she plays first base on my team. So, yeah, it’s nice, something to do together!

Why did you choose softball over baseball?

I think adult baseball just takes so long. Like, all your Saturday, or all your Sunday, depending on where you play. It’s quite brutal, really, in that respect. So you often play double headers. You play four,  fourteen, eighteen innings, in a day. It takes you a whole Saturday and because the teams are so spread out we had games away at Milton Keynes and Liverpool and in Nottingham. It was an absolute trek. Whereas softball just allowed me to do something with Kate on a Wednesday night for an hour and a half. It’s a lot less taxing. I’ve no problem with baseball apart from the time commitment.

I really like what softball gives you on the defence, you get involved a lot more. Baseball can be very much a pitcher-batter battle. Which is good when I was the pitcher in the first game. But then you do the second game and it’s quite tedious. 

Did you go straight for Titans when you joined? How long have you been at MSL?

I think it’s my fourth or fifth season. I had another friend from uni who came here first, and she’d found Titans through the recruitment officer I think. And they were sort of struggling for girl players actually, and invited Kate down. And Kate said, can I bring  my partner along? And they said, oh well, we’re kind of full on guys, but you can bring him down, he can have a hit.

And you’ve been captain since?

Amy, the old captain, took a break in the lead up to her wedding and I took over with six games left, and then it was my first game this season, today.

What’s the best thing about playing for the Titans?

It’s getting to play with Kate, that’s been the best thing. I kind of have to say that, so you can put that in!

What’s your best play been for Titans? 

To be honest, my speciality is a full length diving catch in the outfield. I’ve made a few of those, it’s probably hard to pick one. There was one at the Manchester LGBTQ+ tournament, where it was coming forward to the right, dying on me, and a sort of full length forward dived and I got it in my glove. That’s probably the best one I’ve made.

That’s dedication on a rec tournament!

As soon as it goes up and it’s not straight at me I’m dying to get after it, like a bloodhound! There was also a really close game in the semi final of Manchester Silver. I wasn’t playing for Titans. I threw someone out at one from left centre. It was sort of a tied game, last innings kind of scenario. That was pretty cool as well. As you can tell, all my favourite plays are defensive plays. I do enjoy that side of the game a lot more.

What are your ambitions for the Titans for this season?

We’ve had an absolute nightmare this week with availability. So just to turn ten people out at half six on a Wednesday is good for me. I want us to compete every week. I don’t want us to get mercied at all. Today we had a tie and it was just so much fun. Where we fall, I think it’ll just come out in the wash, I’m not too bothered. But yeah, just to compete and that’s good for me.

Titans got mercied on 3 occasions, and played numerous games without 10 registered players. However, they finished 3rd in Division 2 this season.