This year’s MLB All-Star Game will feature a point of pride for the local area.
- Bryan Baker, a former Choctaw baseball player and Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher, was named to the American League All-Star roster and will participate in the game July 14 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
“Making the All-Star team is definitely a surprise, but I’m extremely honored to get the opportunity and to share the experience with my family,” Baker said.
Baker has deep roots in the area. He was born and raised in Fort Walton Beach and attended Choctawhatchee High School, where he was a member of the Class of 2013. He played both basketball and baseball for the Indians, developing into the team’s staff ace, with his best year at Choctaw coming during his senior season in 2013.
“My time at Choctaw helped me gain experience in multiple sports and the opportunity to play against good high school competition in order to get better,” Baker said.
- His favorite memory from his time as an Indian? A 19-strikeout game against Fort Walton Beach High School.
Baker was drafted in the 40th round of the 2013 MLB draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates but chose not to sign, instead opting to play college baseball at the University of North Florida. His best season came as a junior, when he was named first-team All-Atlantic Sun after posting a 6-4 record with 80 strikeouts and leading the conference with a 2.27 ERA.
The Colorado Rockies drafted Baker in the 11th round of the 2016 MLB draft, and he spent time in their farm system before being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2018. After two more years in the minor leagues, Baker made his MLB debut on Sept. 5, 2021, against the Athletics.
- The Blue Jays waived him after the season, and the Baltimore Orioles claimed him off waivers. In Baltimore, he worked his way into becoming a regular in the bullpen.
In July 2025, Baker was traded to the Rays, and this season he is in the midst of a breakout year as Tampa Bay’s closer. Through 36 appearances, he has a 1-0 record with 37 strikeouts, 11 walks, 17 hits allowed, seven runs allowed, a career-best 23 saves and a career-best 1.83 ERA.
Baker credited the organization for helping him reach this point.
“The success is a result of getting acclimated in the Rays organization and using all of the amazing resources around me to try and be as consistent as possible,” he said. “I feel like the Rays have helped me get here by giving me the confidence to go out and perform with the pitches I’ve got and use them at the right time.”
The All-Star nod makes Baker the first Choctaw alumnus to be named to an all-star game in any of the four major professional sports leagues and the first graduate of any high school in Okaloosa or Walton counties to reach the milestone.
“It is pretty special to be the first athlete in the area to make an All-Star team,” Baker said, “especially from an area with so many good athletes.”
