Brian Smith: Phillies public-address announcer Dan Baker talks about his battle with cancer, goals for the future

May 30—A couple boxes of baseballs were on the table in front of Dan Baker and Mickey Morandini.

Morandini took out a few he wanted to have signed by some members of the Reading Fightin Phils.

Then the former Philadelphia Phillies second baseman realized he needed an even more significant autograph — that of the man seated to his right, Baker, the Phillies' longtime public-address announcer.

The iconic Baker is in his 50th year as the ballpark voice of the Phillies. He's the longest-tenured PA announcer in the majors and has his sights set on the all-time record of 59 seasons set by Pat Pieper of the Chicago Cubs from 1916 to 1974.

He's also a cancer survivor.

Baker and Morandini were in town last week for Fightin Cancer Night at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Morandini was there as an ambassador for the Darren Daulton Foundation, which is committed to providing financial assistance to those who suffer from malignant primary brain tumors. Daulton, the former Phillies catcher, died of brain cancer in 2017.

Baker was there as a symbol of hope.

"What I'm hoping that fans take away from this is that cancer can be overcome," Baker said prior to the Fightin Phils' game that night against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. "When I was growing up, if you heard that somebody had cancer that usually meant that it was terminal. And if it didn't mean end of life, it certainly meant end of career. But as modern medical science has advanced, cancer has become more and more of a chronic disease, one that you can live with for many years if properly treated. And you can bounce back from it.

"And I'm an example of that, being able to announce again at a high level. And you know, if God blesses me with good health, and the Phillies will have me, I hope to keep doing this for years to come."

The 75-year-old missed the pandemic-shortened 2020 season following his diagnosis. In August of that year, he underwent a 24-hour surgery to remove a five-and-a-half centimeter tumor from his right cheek. The squamous cell carcinoma also had invaded Baker's cheekbone.

"So they had to take out not only soft tissue and the tumor itself, but part of the bone," Baker said.

Doctors then took bone and tissue from one of Baker's legs to reconstruct his cheekbone, including a new orbit for his right eye.

"The doctors told me that like 40, 50 years ago, you didn't survive this surgery," Baker said. "And 20 years ago, you could survive it but you'd have like half a face."

Baker said there has been no cancer recurrence since the surgery, but he's still battling an infection in his cheekbone and has been on antibiotics since his surgery.

He said he will have another procedure in July to remove the infected bone. Depending on what doctors find, they may need to take bone from his other leg or his arms.

"They told me that the length of the procedures that are required could be as long as 12 to 15 hours," Baker said. "It could be a week's hospital stay and a month's recovery time. That's a worst-case scenario. In a best-case scenario, it might be a four- to six-hour procedure, a couple of days in the hospital and a week's recovery time. Of course, that's what I'm hoping and praying for. But I'll tell you one thing, I'm coming back."

To hear Baker, especially at Citizens Bank Park, one would never know the issues he has had to deal with over the last two year. He said he can't open his mouth all the way and that he doesn't have most of his teeth on the right side.

"But I can still talk and I haven't forgotten anything about pausing for effect, raising or lowering my voice as the situation dictates," Baker said. "I know when to be enthusiastic and I know when not to be. You know I've been around long enough and I think I read situations pretty well."

Next up for Baker on the longevity list is Bob Sheppard, who was the Yankees' PA voice for 57 years. Then there's Pieper.

"I love it," Baker said of his job. "I'll tell you, it really gave me a lot of incentive to get better. And what a joy to announce guys like Mickey Morandini, one of my all time favorite names to say.

"You know, since 1972, I've announced every Phillie. What a privilege."