Jets’ Baker more than meets the eye

At 6-foot-3, 258 pounds and armed with soft hands, Chris Baker seems like the prototypical NFL tight end. His play recently has made him appear better than average. However, there is much more to Baker, a St. Albans product, than his accomplishments on a football field.
An avid angler, Baker recently launched his own travel website. Shortly after the Jets selected the Michigan State standout in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft, he started to travel. He visited exotic foreign countries like Costa Rica, Brazil, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic, now some of his favorite vacation spots, and became an experienced traveler.
One day, his aunt, Patricia Henry, recommended he take it a step further. Now, Baker has his own travel website (www.cbsplendidtravel.com), which he launched last November. He does not have any clients yet, and he pays a company a monthly fee to maintain it. Right now, it is more an avenue whereby he can offer helpful hints to interested parties than a moneymaker.
“I love to travel to different parts of the world and I had the ability to go out and create my own website,” he said. “I figured why not? It was a perfect idea for me. I thought it was a good to try something a little different and something I like.”
Because of his busy summer with the Jets and the upcoming season, Baker, 27, said the site still has a lot of work to do. He has not made much money from it yet, but a few teammates have checked it out and expressed interest. After his playing days are over, it may even become a second career.
“I would love to really get into it, because it’s another passion, like fishing is for me. Hopefully I can build it up,” he said. “I love to play football obviously, but there’s a complete other side of me as well.”
On the field, Baker has improved in each of his four seasons with the Jets. Last year was a breakout campaign - Baker hauled in 31 passes for 300 yards and four touchdowns, helping Gang Green reach the postseason.
“There were certain games they looked at me,” he said. “Hopefully I can be an even bigger part of the offense this year.”
If football does not work out, Baker has a fallback plan to lean on.