Jeff Baker Invited To USA Baseball National Team Trials

May 1, 2001

Tucson, AZ – Clemson third baseman Jeff Baker is one of 19 players invited on Tuesday to participate in the 2001 USA Baseball National Team Trials which will be held June 16-19 in Tucson.

Baker, who leads the ACC and is ranked 10th nationally this season with 17 home runs, will be trying to represent the United States for the fourth time in the last five years. The sophomore from Woodbridge, VA was a member of the 1997 USA Youth National Team that finished fifth at the IBA World Youth Championships in Taipei, Taiwan. He was also a member of the 1999 USA Junior National Team that won the gold medal at the IBA World Junior Championships in Kaohsiung China and in 2000 helped led the USA National Team to the gold medal at the Honkbal Classic in Holland.

The USA National Team will be selected from a pool of approximately 20-29 players, of which an additional 5-10 have yet to be determined. Team USA will play approximately 30 games on the Red, White and Blue Summer Tour, beginning on June 22 with the 30th annual USA vs Japan Collegiate All-Star Series, which this year will be played in Japan. The list of the first 19 players invited to the 2001 USA Baseball National Team Trials is shown below:

Player	Pos	Ht	Wt	B/T	DOB	Yr	School	Hometown
Aubrey, Michael	LHP/OF	6-0	180	L/L	4-15-82	Fr	Tulane	Shreveport, LA
Jeff Baker	IF	6-1	215	R/R	6-21-81	So	Clemson	Woodbridge, VA
Bengochea, Kiki	RHP	6-2	195	R/R	12-4-80	So	Miami	Miami, FL
Brownlie, Bobby	RHP	6-1	195	R/R	10-5-80	So	Rutgers	Edison, NJ
Bullington, Bryan	RHP	6-5	220	R/R	9-30-80	So	Ball State	Madison, IN
Carson, Matt	OF	6-2	195	B/R	7-1-81	So	BYU	Yucaipa, CA
Fuld, Sam	OF	5-10	180	L/L	11-20-81	Fr	Stanford	Durham, NC
Maholm, Paul	LHP	6-3	205	L/L	6-25-82	Fr	Mississippi State	Holly Springs, MS
Merrell, Darric	RHP	6-4	200	R/R	1-22-82	Fr	Cal State-Fullerton	Temecula, CA
Parker, Tyler	C	6-3	212	R/R	5-13-81	So	Georgia Tech	Marietta, GA
Quentin, Carlos	OF	6-2	210	R/R	8-28-82	Fr	Stanford	Chula Vista, CA
Quintanilla, Omar	IF	5-9	175	L/R	10-24-81	Fr	Texas	El Paso, TX
Reed, Jeremy	IF	6-0	185	L/L	6-15-81	So	Long Beach State	LaVerne, CA
Ring, Royce	LHP	6-0	215	L/L	12-21-80	So	San Diego State	San Diego, CA
Snyder, Chris	C	6-3	225	R/R	2-12-81	So	Houston	Houston, TX
Swisher, Nick	IF	6-0	200	B/L	11-25-80	So	Ohio State	Parkersburg, WV
Watchko, Jeff	RHP	6-3	195	R/R	11-7-80	So	Georgia Tech	Roswell, GA
Weeks, Rickie	OF	5-11	195	R/R	9-13-82	Fr	Southern	Altamonte Springs, FL
Zimmerman, Bob	RHP	6-5	225	R/R	11-17-81	Fr	SW Missouri State	Creve Coeur, MO

Mississippi State’s Pat McMahon will serve as the head coach for Team USA. He will be assisted by Dusty Rhodes of North Florida, Paul Stevens of Northwestern, and Bob Todd of Ohio State. For interested scouts, this team will be holding practice sessions at the Hi Corbett Field facilities in Tucson beginning Saturday, June 16. The official team roster will be determined and announced on June 19.