For Baxter, College Is Just As Important As Baseball

A little over a week ago, Jon Morosi of Fox Sports, wrote an article about the rarity of college graduates playing Major League Baseball.

Through a survey conducted by Fox Sports, of the 917 players who have appeared in a game in the 2012 season, only 39 of them had a four-year degree.

That number is up from back in 2009 when the Wall Street Journal reported that only 26 players and managers had obtained their four-year degree.

This got me thinking. How many Mets players would be included on this list of college graduates.

The answer. Not many.

When I asked the Mets media relations staff, I was given one name. Mike Baxter.

During my recent trip to Pittsburgh, I had the chance to talk with Baxter about his decision to complete his degree.

You started at Columbia and then transferred to Vanderbilt. Was that for baseball reasons or academic reasons?

It was just baseball. When I was at Columbia I loved it there. I thought it was a really great school, but an opportunity kind of presented itself where Vanderbilt was transitioning and I decided it would probably be a better fit for me, both academically and athletically.

Rest Easy, Mets Fans. Mike Baxter Is Back!

Welcome back, Mike Baxter. It's been a whopping three days since the Mets non-tendered you.

The Mets have re-signed Baxter to a minor league deal and he is invited to big-league camp this spring.

Meet the Met: Mike Baxter

This will be a weekly segment where I delve into the Mets farm system for a new face. It could be a player that has recently been acquired by the organization, or a player who many people may not know about, but has outperformed his expectations this season.

To begin, let me introduce: Mike Baxter.

Baxter, 26, was a fourth round pick of the San Diego Padres in the 2005 draft. He is a corner outfielder by trade, but played centerfield this past Saturday for the first time since 2009. Mike had been on the 60 day DL with the Padres for most of the season, after having surgery on March 28 to repair a torn ligament in his thumb. However, after Orlando Hudson was injured making a sliding catch, he was placed on waivers, where the Mets picked him up on July 22.

Over the course of his minor league career, which now spans seven seasons, Baxter has consistently improved. Take a look at these numbers:

	BA	OBP	SLG
2005 – A	.219	.267	.311
2006 – A	.256	.304	.363
2007 – A+, AAA	.271	.339	.401
2008 – A+, AA	.264	.345	.406
2009 – AA, AAA	.317	.394	.469
2010 – AAA	.301	.382	.517
2011 – A+, AAA	.321	.404	.440

At 26, his best years are still in front of him. Looking at his history, he has the ability to make adjustments and improve his craft no matter what level he is at, so he has some major league potential.