Jordan Baker, We Are Watching You

Every breath you take
And every move you make
Every bond you break, every step you take
I'll be watching you

Every single day
And every word you say
Every game you play, every night you stay
I'll be watching you

-- The Police, "Every Breath You Take"

Remember this story about rookie umpire Jordan Baker? He was caught on camera throwing his wads of used chewing gum onto the field at Petco Park in San Diego.

This story is a few days old, but with such a busy -- and long -- homestand, I just got around to getting all the facts together in the last few days.

Baker was on the umpiring crew that was at Wrigley Field for last weekend's Cubs/Pirates series. After Baker got the negative publicity for his gum-tossing in San Diego, I was told that the Cubs had cameras watching him during the series so that he didn't do it again.

I, too, was watching Baker, particularly during last Saturday's game when he was the third-base umpire and right in my line of sight from left field. I personally witnessed him appear to toss something out of his mouth onto the field, and then take something else out of his pocket and put it in his mouth.

Could it have been gum? No, according to one source. It was sunflower seeds. So if you see giant sunflowers start sprouting in short left field at Wrigley, you'll know why.

Incidentally, Baker is a really tall dude -- seeing him standing near players, coaches and other umpires, I'd guess he's about six-foot-six.