Tag: Darren Baker

Darren Baker, son of Dusty, called up to majors 22 years after his World Series bat boy moment

Want to feel old?

Want to feel old?

Remember when Dusty Baker was manager of the San Francisco Giants and his bat boy son ran onto the field during the 2002 World Series and had to be snatched up mid-play by J.T. Snow?

Yeah, that little kid will be playing in a big league game soon.

The Washington Nationals called up Darren Baker to the majors Sunday as part of their September roster expansion. It’ll be his first major league stint after the Nats first drafted him in 2017 when Dusty was the team’s manager, then again in 2021 after he opted for college.

Where did the time go.

Dusty Baker’s son, Darren, trolled his dad after hitting a game-tying grand slam against the Astros

Dusty did not like this long ball

Dusty Baker may finally have a World Series ring, but his son Darren currently owns bragging rights at home.

(And yes, before you ask, this is the same Darren Baker who was saved by J.T. Snow during the 2002 World Series. We’re old.)

Anyways, Darren is now a 24-year-old prospect in the Washington Nationals organization his dad used to manage and on Friday found himself in the lineup against Dusty’s Houston Astros.

Cut to the 9th inning with Washington trailing by four and Darren stepping to the plate with the bases loaded. The infielder took a 1-1 fastball at the top of the zone and blasted it over the fence for a game-tying grand slam.

His celebration wasn’t too out of the ordinary, but Darren had another message for his dad once he got back to the clubhouse after the Nats finished up an 11-7 win.

That’s certainly the least Darren could do after getting his dad fired up.

“I knew he was going to make contact, because he doesn’t strike out,” Dusty told reporters after the loss. “I was just hoping when that ball went up that it would just be a sacrifice fly. I would have been happy with that. He could get an RBI, and we’d get the win. …

“I didn’t know whether to be a proud papa or an angry papa, but boy that was a nightmare ninth inning. We couldn’t get anybody out.”

Darren wasn’t going to let his dad’s glare get in the way of a little gloating. Especially since the two are sharing a house in Florida for the duration of spring training.

“He didn’t want to look at me,” Darren said. “He didn’t want to speak to me after the game, so I had to run down the third base line. He said he’ll call me later.”

Back in the dugout after rounding the bases, Darren said it felt like an out-of-body experience. He may come back down to Earth if Dusty decides to wear his World Series ring to dinner.

Want to feel ancient? Let’s check in on Dusty Baker’s son who was saved at ’02 World Series

Darren Baker was saved by J.T. Snow at the 2002 World Series. He’s now a standout infielder at Cal.

One of the more random and thrilling moments of recent-ish baseball history was during the 2002 World Series. The Giants were playing the Angels, leading 8-4 in the 7th inning, and Barry Bonds was at the plate with two men on.

Because he was Barry Bonds and exceptionally good at hitting baseballs, Bonds ripped a triple off the wall. Cool moment, definitely. The crowd loved it.

What happened at home plate was what made the moment last, however. That was when J.T. Snow reacted in an instant to grab Dusty Baker’s toddler son, Darren, who had managed to get on the field and tried to run into the direct path of large, sprinting men on the basepaths.

It was an odd, out-of-place moment of humanity in a major sporting event, and it’s stayed with many of us.

You can see Bonds’ reaction when he reaches third base — he doesn’t celebrate, but instead is concerned for the young Baker, and a bit confused as to what happened.

Anyway, it was a real moment, one that baseball fans will undoubtedly remember for a long time. That’s not why we’re here, though. We’re here to feel old. Really old.

Here’s Darren Baker now:

The great Bomani Jones pointed it out on Twitter, and for that we thank him, and will now go back to feeling ancient and miserable.

Darren Baker was drafted in the 27th round three years ago by the Nationals, but instead decided to honor his commitment to Cal, where apparently he’s doing quite well for himself. Last year the infielder slashed a .367 / .335 / .702 line with 21 stolen bases in 52 games.

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