 Baumann signed with the Red Sox in 1952 out of high school in his native St. Louis, receiving a $90,000 bonus from owner Tom Yawkey, who nicknamed him "Beau".He won 10 of 11 decisions for the Triple-A Louisville Colonels in 1953, his second season in professional baseball, before being drafted into United States Army service during the Korean War.When he mustered out of the Army in mid-1955, he joined the MLB Red Sox in late July.