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Pancho Baca is the kind of player that makes every little boy believe that some day he can grow up to be a professional baseball player. The 10th round pick of the Philadelphia Freedom in the 1987 First-Year Player draft (#233 overall) out of a small NJ high school, Baca wasn’t even sure he’d make it to his second professional season.
The now 20 year old explains, “Oh, it was quite an experience. I’m just a Jersey kid with no real thoughts of playing ball past maybe some JuCo ball or local club ball and I get a call that I’ve been drafted by my favorite team from my childhood. I think they did it as a favor to me because I was a local kid. I was always the best player on my little league team and school teams, but I never thought I had the skills to play pro ball and I damn sure didn’t think I belonged after that first taste of A ball. I think I ended up with an on base and slugging average less than my weight.” (Baca tips the scale at 220lbs, though locker room talk puts the number at closer to 235. He produced a line of .172 | .202 | .201 in his half season at Fort Myers)
“It was a real eye-opener and I would call home telling my dad that I was ready to quit,” Baca continued. “I was home sick, I was stinking it up and I just didn’t see a future. Why would the team worry about what happened to a 10th round throw away pick? I thought for sure I’d be cut after that first season.”
Baca returned to Fort Myers (A) for the 1988 season and showed moderate progression: .251 | .320 | .321 and a 2:1 K/BB ratio.
“I felt a little more comfortable that second go-round,” said Baca. “I knew when they had me back that second year that they were going to give me a real shot to see if I truly belonged. I had a stronger second half than first and I guess they saw enough to keep me around.”
Baca opened the 1989 season once again in Fort Myers.
“I had just turned 20, so I wasn’t worried that I was still being asked to go to A Ball. I knew it takes some guys a couple of years to get adjusted to pro ball and I knew I would just have to prove that I was ready for the jump. I certainly don’t blame them for starting me there this year. How can you? I hadn’t really produced yet,” said Baca.
Baca rewarded the club’s patience by torturing A Ball pitching to the tune of: .459 | .529 | .549 over a month-plus worth of games.
“All of sudden, I’m just killing the ball. It looks like a melon being tossed to the plate,” recalled Baca.
He won the first three Walker League Player of the Week Awards before being promoted to AA Frederick. The advanced pitching he faced there slowed him down, but not by much, sporting a line of: .340 | .420 | .408 improving his K/BB ratio to 1.4:1.
“I don’t really know what to expect from here,” said Baca when asked about next year and beyond. “You never know in this game. I think I’ll probably start back here in Double A. I’ll just have turned 21 and they may want me to prove it again. Maybe a repeat of this year? Start at the lower level, show I can still handle it and then a promotion? That’s up to the front office to decide.”
For now Baca is happy to receive the recognition, but is far from satisfied. He knows a lot more time and hard work will be necessary if he wants to keep forcing his way up through the minors. A 10th rounder is always a 10th rounder, until they reach the show.
Baca’s 1989 Numbers:
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table.tableizer-table {border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;} .tableizer-table td {padding: 4px; margin: 3px; border: 1px solid #ccc;}.tableizer-table th {background-color: #104E8B; color: #FFF; font-weight: bold;}</style><table class="tableizer-table"><tr class="tableizer-firstrow"><th></th><th>AB</th><th>H</th><th>2B</th><th>3B</th><th>HR</th> <th>RBI</th><th>R</th><th>BB</th><th>K</th><th>TB</th><th>AVG</th><th>OBP</th><th>SLG</th><th>OPS</th><th>VORP</th><th>RC/27</th></tr><tr><td>A</td><td>122</td><td>56</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>13</td><td>25</td><td>15</td><td>19</td><td>67</td><td>.459</td><td>.529</td><td>.549</td><td>1.078</td><td>25.0</td><td>14.07</td></tr><tr><td>AA</td><td>321</td><td>109</td><td>11</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>31</td><td>55</td><td>40</td><td>56</td><td>131</td><td>.340</td><td>.420</td><td>.408</td><td>.828</td><td>20.1</td><td>7.43</td></tr><tr><td>Total</td><td>443</td><td>165</td><td>15</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>44</td><td>80</td><td>55</td><td>75</td><td>198</td><td>.372</td><td>.450</td><td>.447</td><td>.897</td><td>45.1</td><td>8.93</td></tr></table>
What's Next:
Honestly, we don’t know. He has a weird scouting rating, but his two biggest strengths are ones that can get you on the field: Contact (6) and Eye (6). He won’t ever hit for any power and right now he plays 1B. He doesn’t really project to be able to play anywhere else on the field, so he’s a bit limited there. Still, he’s an interesting player and an interesting story (at least to me).
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