 The New York Mets drafted Baldwin in the ninth round of the 1971 Major League Baseball draft straight out of Thomas Downey High School in Modesto, California.Used primarily as a starting pitcher his first two seasons in the minors, he began seeing more work as a relief pitcher in , and was used almost exclusively as a reliever in .He compiled a 34-25 record with ten saves and a 4.03 earned run average over four seasons in the Mets' farm system when he earned a spot on the major league roster to start the season.