(AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Yesterday, Darren Baker stepped on a big-league field for the first time since he was 3-years-old as he made his MLB debut with the Washington Nationals collecting first big league hit in a 14-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
Making his debut even sweeter was that he did so as his father Dusty Baker was watching in the stands. Baker, who stepped down as manager of the Houston Astros after last season, now works in the front office of the San Francisco Giants.
Of course, most remember Darren Baker when he acted as a batboy when his Dad managed the Giants to the NL pennant in 2002. During Game 5 of the World Series against the Anaheim Angels, Kenny Lofton hit a two-run triple. Baker went to collect Lofton's bat. However, there was a play at the plate and J.T. Snow saw that Baker could be in peril and alertly swept him up to safety. Following this incident, MLB implemented a new rule which mandated that batboys had to be at least 14-years old.
The two would reunite in 2018 when Baker was a freshman at Cal Berkeley and Snow was a broadcaster for the Pac-12 Network recounting the incident.
Baker would be a 10th round draft pick of the Nats in 2021 and now he can carry his own bat to the plate. A baseball story has come full circle on the diamond. Here's hoping the now 25-year-old Darren Baker enjoys a career in MLB just as successful as that of Dusty Baker. who celebrated his 75th birthday earlier this year.
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