Faces: Jeremy Brown & John Baker

Four years ago, John Baker and Jeremy Brown became part of one of the most famous draft classes in baseball history -- the Oakland A's Moneyball class of 2002. Now, three years removed from the release of Michael Lewis' popular examination of the A's unique system of player evaluation, the two remain linked, both as teammates and friends.

After the relative obscurity that comes with playing college baseball, Brown and Baker became familiar names within baseball circles following the 2003 release of Moneyball. Brown was featured prominently in the book as the bad-bodied catcher who could get on base who no one but the A's really wanted. And fellow catcher Baker was on the list of hitters who Oakland general manager Billy Beane had to have in the 2002 draft.

It would seem that that kind of blast into the national spotlight would add some serious pressure to the already competitive experience of Minor League Baseball. But both Baker and Brown, now teammates at Triple-A Sacramento, say the book is old news.

"The book was great in the beginning," Brown said. "At first, there was a little more hype around me than I wanted because of the book. But now, I don't think that it changes the way people look at me or face me."

"The way that baseball is, we draft another 40 guys every year," Baker added. "Although there was a book written about one year, every draft class is the new Moneyball draft class."

That attitude of humility mixed with confidence is one that has made it possible for the two to be such effective teammates in a fairly distinctive situation in Sacramento. While most catchers get an occasional day off, Brown and Baker get a break every other day -- a side effect of having two experienced, talented backstops on the same team.

As the season nears its end, just 10 at-bats separate the two -- Baker has 271 in 77 games, while Brown has 261 in 73 games.

"We both have played well throughout the year," Baker said. "We are different kinds of players. I'm more of a doubles guy that is going to get on base, and he is more of a power guy. We bring different things to the lineup. I think our manager [Tony DeFrancesco] has done a great job of making it fair for both of us. Neither of us can complain that 'he gets to play more than me.'"

The time-splitting strategy does have its drawbacks. Neither gets a full season worth of experience. Getting into a rhythm becomes a challenge. Even staying on the same page with pitchers presents some difficulties.

"Some days when you are feeling good, you won't be in the lineup," Brown said. "It's kind of frustrating when that happens. But that's the way things have worked out, and you just have to deal with it."

As with every aspect of the situation, there is a flip side. Splitting time gives Baker and Brown a taste of what things might be like in the Major Leagues.

"When I look into the future at my career, I know it is difficult to start in the big leagues as a starting catcher as a young player," Baker said. "You have to have the ability to come off the bench, play every other day or even every fourth day to be valuable to a Major League team. I think that for both of us this is a great learning experience in that sense."

While Baker has had more experience playing at the higher level -- he joined Sacramento in late 2004 and played with the River Cats for all of 2005 -- more often than not, he is the one asking Brown for suggestions on the field.

"There are the little ins and outs of the league that I can help him with since I've been here longer," Baker said. "Places to go in different cities, where to eat, stuff like that. But when it comes to baseball, he's the more experienced player than I am, he's got an extra year on me. I think that I look to him more for pieces of advice when it comes to the game."

The relationship also goes the other way. At 26, Brown may be the elder of the two to Baker's 25 years, but he also uses the competition that Baker provides to build his own game.

"If you have a guy that is pushing you, like John does for me and I do for him, it is nothing but helpful," Brown said."

The two play off each other, use the other's abilities as motivation. Baker and Brown are competing towards the same end, but it has not fractured their relationship. Rather, each gives the other something to strive for.

"When you start to play professional baseball for a period of time -- we've both been around for five years -- there really is no competition between the two people," Baker said. "The best thing that you can do is go out and do the best you can, while hoping that everyone else does well, because that is going to push you. You get to the big leagues by putting up great numbers and playing exceptionally well. You don't want to go out there and see anyone not do well, and I think that we've both taken that attitude. We always joke around that if you add our numbers up, look at how good we are together."

Each has put up solid numbers, but again, they differ in the way they do it. Baker has provided a higher average and gets on base at a better clip, while Brown has provided the power. But combined, the two would become one of the top catchers in the PCL. Baker is batting .277 with four home runs and 37 RBIs, while Brown has slugged 13 home runs and driven in 40, but is hitting just .257.

The tandem also calls different-style games, further adding to the appeal of having two catchers or strengthening the case that it makes life more difficult. Alternating catchers makes life difficult on the pitchers, but it also keeps the opposition guessing, something Baker says outweighs the concerns of mixing the two in the lineup.

"If you have two guys catching one pitcher, that pitcher's tendencies are going to vary and be harder to establish," Baker said. "It probably helps our starting staff out a lot. The way the season is organized, we play a team like Fresno nine times in a row. They are going to see the same guys, and I'm going to catch a guy once and Jeremy is going to catch them the next time because of the five-man rotation. They may get a little bit of a different look each time, and hopefully that can mix them up a little bit."

Most of all, what makes the system work is the fact that Baker and Brown get along. The pair has been linked since college when both were up for the Johnny Bench Award, given to the nation's top catcher.

Brown ended up winning the prize as a senior at the University of Alabama, while Baker was in his junior season at Cal. Then came the draft and the distinction of being the two Moneyball catchers. But as time has passed, the two remain friends and teammates, while progressing through the A's farm system together. Without that personal relationship, a tricky situation could have turned into an impossible one.

"We're in a good situation because we're really close friends," Baker said. "We have always had a situation were there is competition set up between us, but we haven't really looked at it that way. I remember, early on in our career, being drafted in the same year, we were always compared to each other. We have come up through the Minors together. I think that we have been really fortunate to have as good a time together as we have."