[2] In 1914 he was promoted to the Detroit Tigers, and played in 172 games over three seasons as a back-up for Oscar Stanage, batting .209 with 63 hits, including nine doubles and four triples.

In 1930 he was appointed player-manager of the Beaumont Exporters, a premier Texas League team with some of Detroit's top prospects, including Schoolboy Rowe, Pete Fox, and Hank Greenberg.

[3] When Detroit manager Bucky Harris promoted Rowe, Fox, and Greenberg to the major league level in 1933, he hired Baker to coach third base for the Tigers.

[3] In 1940, the New York Yankees, who had won the AL pennant and the World Series four years running, faltered, leaving the Tigers and the Cleveland Indians to contend for the league title.

With three games remaining in the season, on Friday, September 27, and the two teams tied, Baker chose obscure rookie pitcher Floyd Giebell to pitch for the pennant against future Hall of Famer Bob Feller.

[5] With World War II on the horizon, the 1941 season was marked by the call to active military service of numerous baseball stars, including Greenberg.

In his final season, 1960, Baker managed one last time in the big leagues as Boston's interim pilot from June 8–12 between Billy Jurges' firing and Pinky Higgins' rehiring.

[1] As a coach and manager, Baker was known for his proficiency at detecting the type of pitch an opposing pitcher was about to deliver and tipping off his team's batter with verbal signals.

In a ball game against the Red Sox in Boston, late in the season, I noticed that their third base coach, Del Baker, was watching me very closely.

After some thought, I came to the conclusion that with my full pitching delivery, he was gaining an advantage for the hitters by homing in on how I held the baseball before I threw it to the plate.