Steven Baker
Encyclopedia
Steven Paul Baker is an Australian rules football
er who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League
(AFL) from 1999 to 2011.
AFL Draft
at pick 27 in a second round pick to the St Kilda Football Club.
Baker played in St Kilda’s 2004 Wizard Home Loans Cup
winning side – St Kilda's second pre-season cup win.
In 2005, he tied with teammate Luke Ball
in St Kilda's best and fairest award, the Trevor Barker Award
. Previous to this his best ranking was third in 2004. On 28 May 2005, Baker and teammate Fraser Gehrig
played their 100th and 200th AFL games respectively.
Baker played in St Kilda’s 2008 AFL National Australia Bank Cup
winning side – St Kilda Football Club’s 3rd AFL Cup Win.
Baker played in 21 of 22 matches in the 2009 season's home and away rounds in which St Kilda qualified in first position for the finals series, winning the club’s third minor premiership
.
St Kilda qualifified for the 2009 grand final after qualifying and preliminary finals wins. Baker played in the 2009 AFL Grand Final
in which St Kilda were defeated by 12 points.
The athletic Baker has caused some controversy during his career, playing as a tagger
(run with) player rather than a set position player. Some football purists have criticised this style of play, while others have praised it.
On 18 August 2007, Baker was linked to an incident behind play, in the third quarter of a match against Fremantle at Telstra Dome
. Fremantle forward Jeff Farmer
was assisted from the playing area at Telstra Dome
, with blood coming from his nose and suffering concussion.
The incident was not witnessed by umpires or captured on film. Channel 10 commentator Michael Voss
stated soon afterwards that he saw what happened and added that Baker would be hoping it had not been captured by TV cameras. However he later denied viewing the actual incident and admitted to making an assumption based on his perception of the moments immediately before and after the incident.
Baker was charged by the AFL with rough conduct and, in the absence of video evidence, the Match Review Committee was forced to refer Baker directly to the AFL Tribunal
. On 21 August 2007 it was announced that Baker had been found guilty and suspended for seven matches, then the longest sentence for a single incident since the tribunal system was changed to a points-based system (it has since been surpassed by only Dean Solomon
's eight-match suspension the following year). The penalty was made so severe due to a 40% points loading due to Baker's record of four game suspension in the previous three years, and controversial 127.5 carry-over points; Baker had been suspended for two separate incidents in Round 6 against Carlton
, but a loophole (closed immediately thereafter) allowed him to serve a shorter time and carry-over more than 100 points. After serving his suspension Baker returned for two matches before injuring his knee against Richmond
.
On 28 June 2010, after St Kilda's Round 13 game against Geelong (the first rematch between the clubs since the 2009 grand final), Baker was charged four times for separate incidents – three for striking and one for misconduct (specifically, making unreasonable and unnecessary contact with an injured player) – against Geelong's Steve Johnson, who was also charged for twice for striking Baker (including an elbow which left Baker with a black eye), after the pair clashed several times during the first half when Baker was tagging Johnson. Baker became the first person to be reported for misconduct towards an injured player; ironically this became a reportable offence after a Saint, Nick Riewoldt
got targeted after breaking his collarbone during an AFL match in 2005. After accepting early pleas for the three striking offences and having the misconduct charge upheld by the tribunal, Baker was suspended for nine matches. This is the longest suspension given from a single match (but not for a single incident) under the points-based tribunal system.
As of the end of the 2010 season, Baker had played in 11 AFL finals matches including three grand finals.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(AFL) from 1999 to 2011.
AFL career
Baker was drafted in the 19981998 AFL Draft
The 1998 AFL Draft consisted of a pre-season draft, a national draft, a trade period and a rookie elevation. The AFL Draft is the annual draft of talented players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League.In 1998 there...
AFL Draft
AFL Draft
The AFL Draft is the annual draft of new unsigned players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League.-History:...
at pick 27 in a second round pick to the St Kilda Football Club.
Baker played in St Kilda’s 2004 Wizard Home Loans Cup
2004 Wizard Home Loans Cup
The 2004 Wizard Home Loans Cup was the Australian Football League competition played in its entirety before the Australian Football League's 2004 Premiership Season began...
winning side – St Kilda's second pre-season cup win.
In 2005, he tied with teammate Luke Ball
Luke Ball
Luke Patrick Ball is a professional Australian rules football player currently playing for in the Australian Football League....
in St Kilda's best and fairest award, the Trevor Barker Award
Trevor Barker Award
The Trevor Barker Award is an Australian rules football award for the player voted the St Kilda Football Club Club Champion during the home and away season in the Australian Football League by a voting panel....
. Previous to this his best ranking was third in 2004. On 28 May 2005, Baker and teammate Fraser Gehrig
Fraser Gehrig
Fraser Gehrig is a retired Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League who played for the St Kilda Football Club and the West Coast Eagles...
played their 100th and 200th AFL games respectively.
Baker played in St Kilda’s 2008 AFL National Australia Bank Cup
2008 NAB Cup
The 2008 NAB Cup was the Australian Football League pre-season competition played in its entirety before the Australian Football League's 2008 Premiership season began...
winning side – St Kilda Football Club’s 3rd AFL Cup Win.
Baker played in 21 of 22 matches in the 2009 season's home and away rounds in which St Kilda qualified in first position for the finals series, winning the club’s third minor premiership
2009 AFL season
-Round 1 :-Round 2:-Round 3 :-Round 4:-Round 5 :-Round 6:-Round 7:-Round 8:-Round 9 :-Round 10:...
.
St Kilda qualifified for the 2009 grand final after qualifying and preliminary finals wins. Baker played in the 2009 AFL Grand Final
2009 AFL Grand Final
The 2009 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the St Kilda Football Club and the Geelong Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 26 September 2009...
in which St Kilda were defeated by 12 points.
The athletic Baker has caused some controversy during his career, playing as a tagger
Tagger
Tagger may refer to:* a method for doing part-of-speech tagging, or grammatical tagging, for example Brill tagger* Tag editor, software that supports editing metadata of multimedia file formats* A position in Australian rules football...
(run with) player rather than a set position player. Some football purists have criticised this style of play, while others have praised it.
Tribunal
Baker is regarded as one of the most efficient taggers in the league, but has been well documented to often stretch the rules, leading to a very high number of tribunal appearances and suspensions.On 18 August 2007, Baker was linked to an incident behind play, in the third quarter of a match against Fremantle at Telstra Dome
Telstra Dome
Docklands Stadium is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands precinct of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
. Fremantle forward Jeff Farmer
Jeff Farmer (footballer)
Jeff Farmer is a former Australian rules footballer of Aboriginal descent. He was the first indigenous player to kick 400 goals in the Australian Football League .-Melbourne career:...
was assisted from the playing area at Telstra Dome
Telstra Dome
Docklands Stadium is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands precinct of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
, with blood coming from his nose and suffering concussion.
The incident was not witnessed by umpires or captured on film. Channel 10 commentator Michael Voss
Michael Voss
Michael Voss is the senior coach of the Brisbane Lions Australian Football League team and a former professional Australian rules footballer....
stated soon afterwards that he saw what happened and added that Baker would be hoping it had not been captured by TV cameras. However he later denied viewing the actual incident and admitted to making an assumption based on his perception of the moments immediately before and after the incident.
Baker was charged by the AFL with rough conduct and, in the absence of video evidence, the Match Review Committee was forced to refer Baker directly to the AFL Tribunal
AFL Tribunal
The AFL Tribunal is the disciplinary tribunal of the Australian Football League .-Points system:Source: AFL Tribunal 2011 Guidebook...
. On 21 August 2007 it was announced that Baker had been found guilty and suspended for seven matches, then the longest sentence for a single incident since the tribunal system was changed to a points-based system (it has since been surpassed by only Dean Solomon
Dean Solomon
Dean Solomon is retired Australian rules footballer. He played for the Fremantle Dockers and the Essendon Bombers in his 13 year, 209 games and a premiership career.-Early career:...
's eight-match suspension the following year). The penalty was made so severe due to a 40% points loading due to Baker's record of four game suspension in the previous three years, and controversial 127.5 carry-over points; Baker had been suspended for two separate incidents in Round 6 against Carlton
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
, but a loophole (closed immediately thereafter) allowed him to serve a shorter time and carry-over more than 100 points. After serving his suspension Baker returned for two matches before injuring his knee against Richmond
Richmond Football Club
The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
.
On 28 June 2010, after St Kilda's Round 13 game against Geelong (the first rematch between the clubs since the 2009 grand final), Baker was charged four times for separate incidents – three for striking and one for misconduct (specifically, making unreasonable and unnecessary contact with an injured player) – against Geelong's Steve Johnson, who was also charged for twice for striking Baker (including an elbow which left Baker with a black eye), after the pair clashed several times during the first half when Baker was tagging Johnson. Baker became the first person to be reported for misconduct towards an injured player; ironically this became a reportable offence after a Saint, Nick Riewoldt
Nick Riewoldt
Nick Riewoldt is an Australian rules footballer who is the current captain of the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League . He was the first draft selection in the 2000 AFL Draft.-Early life:...
got targeted after breaking his collarbone during an AFL match in 2005. After accepting early pleas for the three striking offences and having the misconduct charge upheld by the tribunal, Baker was suspended for nine matches. This is the longest suspension given from a single match (but not for a single incident) under the points-based tribunal system.
2010: Grand finalist
Baker was selected in St Kilda's two grand final matches against Collingwood in 2010.As of the end of the 2010 season, Baker had played in 11 AFL finals matches including three grand finals.