The grandmother was totally oblivious to Pete Mayell, the cricket technical manager of Christchurch who is responsible for live-screening during ODIs around the country, nominating her before training officers voted her the winner.
Needless to say, she finds it a humbling experience after furiously scribbling down numbers, letters, dots and digits for more than two decades.
"It's an honour for all the [voluntary] time worked for 20-odd years, sometimes five days in a row," says Baker who fondly remembers her first ODI in 1999 at Nelson Park, Napier, against India.
"I don't remember things like if we won that game - as long as the book adds up," she says with a grin.
That year she casts her mind back to when retired batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar had scored a century and "no one was there to see him score it" in the three-day first-class match before the test.
"It was an awesome knock."
Unlike some of her counterparts who tend to "remember everything", Baker has her limitations.
It amuses her when representative cricketers roll up to the pavilion or caravan on a Sunday asking what their figures were at premier club level the previous day.
Unlike accountants coming to terms with frustrating errors in monthly or yearly audits, scorers have a five-over, fool-proof system especially when live scoring takes place simultaneously with the paper one these days.
Scorers tend to use black and blue ball-point pens because photocopiers pick them up easily but Baker reaches for her red and green ones for bowling and extras, respectively.
"During the club stuff I like to use colour for each bowler because it's interesting and easy to spot things."
Raetihi-born Baker, who moved to Twizel before marrying husband Phil in Napier and settling here, started scoring in Waipukurau when son Glenn, now 37, started playing at primary school in 1992.
"It was silly just sitting at the ground watching, doing nothing else so I went out and bought a scorebook," she explains.
Not satisfied with her efficiency, Baker would sit at home in front of the TV, as New Zealand was hosting its inaugural ODI World Cup that year, scoring the Black Caps' matches.
"Glenn eventually got into CHB College and the premier men's team there so I just carried on."
Word of her dexterity spread swiftly through the Bay and beyond so it was just a matter of time before former Central Districts Cricket CEO Blair Furlong approached her.
"There weren't many scorers around," says Baker who remembers the only CD Stags' domestic match at a fenced-off Cornwall Park, Hastings, when Chris Gaffney was Otago Volts skipper.
In many respects, little has changed in terms of scorers in the Bay so Baker is imploring anyone from the CD catchment area keen to join the cult of scorers because New Zealand Cricket will keep paper archives in the long term.
"NZC will take people down to Christchurch for training and live scoring."
She stresses scorers belong to a privileged group who get to see picturesque parts of the country at the height of summer with all expenses paid as well as meet some affable individuals.
Baker, who will cover Stags' T20 and one-day matches in New Plymouth and Palmerston North this season, also is looking forward to the only international against Pakistan this summer.
The edu-carer from Village Kids will cover the CD Hinds' round of women's domestic cricket as far as Lincoln, near Christchurch.
"Last year I went to Nelson and it was beautiful. I wouldn't have gone there if I wasn't scoring.
Over the years, Baker has thoroughly enjoyed following the progress of young talent in the region blossom.
