By Brock Sisney (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
CARL JUNCTION — Youth sports across the nation have seen their overall numbers decrease in recent years and more young athletes have started to specialize in one sport before they reach high school.
That’s not the case with Carl Junction senior and traditional three-sport (baseball, basketball, football) athlete Alex Baker.
“The first sport I ever played was basketball,” Baker said. “I played basketball at my church and then started playing T-ball and football ever since I was 4 or 5 years old. I’ve always had a ball or a bat in my hand.
“I definitely think playing multiple sports helps an athlete develop in a lot of different ways. It does stink sometimes not being able to focus on one and master one thing, but there’s so many memories I would lose if I didn’t play all three. It definitely gets a little hectic in the summer, when I go from weights to football to basketball to baseball games at night. It’s tiring, but it’s fun. It’s worth it.
“Football toughens me up a little bit and helps me get rebounds in basketball. Basketball gets me in shape for baseball. It all connects in one way.”
Baker — the son of Carthage Superintendent Mark Baker — has already earned all-Central Ozark Conference honors in football (second team) and basketball (third team) during his senior year.
In football, Baker helped lead the Bulldogs to a 6-6 overall record and district runner-up. He passed for 2,900 yards with 28 touchdowns and 16 interceptions on 209-for-365 (57.3 percent) accuracy.
Baker — listed at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds — missed his entire junior season of football due to an injury he suffered to his right leg in a preseason scrimmage. This injury also caused Baker to miss basketball his junior season.
“Rehab was something that I had never experienced before, being set back that far and having to make my way back up,” Baker said. “I just focused on getting my ankle stronger, my leg stronger, and keeping a positive mindset to get back as fast as possible, then also just improving my entire body.
“I definitely missed being able to make plays and getting to be out on the field. At the same time, getting to celebrate with my friends and watch them and praise them on the sideline helped me get through stuff.”
Baker made his official football return Aug. 28 in the 2020 season opener against Willard, and he passed for 282 years and three scores in a 29-12 victory over the Tigers.
“After a whole year of not being able to be in a CJ uniform, it was something I realized I should never take for granted,” Baker said. “It taught me to battle through adversity and it was scary putting the pads back on knowing what happened last time I had them on, but all my teammates supported me. They blocked for me and made sure I didn’t get hurt again.”
Baker also missed his junior season of baseball due to the COVID-19 pandemic that eliminated all spring sports competition in Missouri and the entire nation.
Carl Junction is ranked No. 5 in Class 5 in the Missouri Baseball Coaches Association rankings. The Bulldogs started the 2021 season 7-2 and their 5-3 victory over McDonald County was highlighted by a Baker two-run walk-off home run.
“I couldn’t have done it if Drew Beyer didn’t get on base,” Baker said. “I was just battling. It was a 2-2 count and I wasn’t trying to hit that, it just happened. It felt great.”
Baker pitched five shutout innings against Frontenac (Kansas) at historic Joe Becker Stadium in Joplin and threw a perfect strike from right field for the final out in a 6-1 victory.
“We’ve started out pretty good,” Baker said. “Lost to a really good Hollister team, lost to a really good Aurora team. We’re excited for the rest of the season and hoping we stay strong for the rest of the season.”
Eventually, though, Baker will have to choose just one sport.
“Right now, I’m wanting to go to Missouri Southern and hopefully play baseball and major in elementary education,” Baker said.
