 He was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the twentieth round of the 1977 Major League Baseball Draft.While pitching for the White Sox's Appleton, Wisconsin minor league club in 1978, Baumgarten was 9–1 with a 1.82 earned run average (ERA) as a starting pitcher, and earned promotion to the White Sox major league club.Baumgarten posted a win-loss record of 13–8 in 1979, and was sixth in the American League with three shutouts.