A World Series legend returns! Astros manager Dusty Baker’s son is drafted by the Nationals 19 years after he was nearly trampled at home plate as a three-year-old bat boy
- The son of Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker has been drafted by the Washington Nationals 19 years after making a famous cameo in the World Series
- Darren Baker, an All-Pac 12 second baseman at Cal, was picked in the 10th round
- He’s best remembered for a moment in Game 3 of the 2002 World Series when he prematurely left the dugout to retrieve the bat of Giants star Kenny Lofton
- Darren didn’t realize that the Giants’ JT Snow was barreling down at home plate
- Snow miraculously scooped up the three-year-old Darren and returned him to the Giants’ dugout before he could be trampled by San Francisco’s David Bell
The son of Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker has been drafted by the Washington Nationals 19 years after cementing himself in World Series history as a three-year-old bat boy for the San Francisco Giants.
Darren Baker, an All-Pac 12 second baseman at the University of California, was picked in the 10th round of MLB’s draft earlier this week by the Nationals, a club his father managed in 2016 and 2017.
The 22-year-old is best remembered for a moment in Game 3 of the 2002 World Series when he prematurely left the dugout to retrieve the bat of Giants outfielder Kenny Lofton, who had tripled off of Anaheim Angels reliever Ben Weber in the seventh inning.
Darren Baker was nearly drafted out of high school, but opted to instead join the Cal Bears, batting .327 over 55 games this season. He started 123 consecutive games for the school
Then-Nationals manager Dusty Baker (right) is pictured with his son Darren in 2016. Darren was drafted by the Nats earlier this week, 19 years after his famous World Series cameo
Three-year-old bat boy Darren Baker comes out to get Kenny Lofton’s bat during Game 3 of the 2002 World Series, but is saved from a possible collision by Giants first baseman JT Snow
JT Snow rescues 3-year-old Bat Boy, Darren Baker from the basepath as David Bell scores a run in the 7th inning against the Angel
Darren is best remembered for a moment in Game 3 of the 2002 World Series when he prematurely left the dugout to retrieve the bat of Giants outfielder Kenny Lofton, who had tripled off of Anaheim Angels reliever Ben Weber in the seventh inning. What the three-year-old Baker didn’t realize was that Giants first baseman JT Snow was barreling down at home plate. Thankfully for Darren and his father Dusty, who was managing the Giants at the time, the quick-thinking Snow scooped up the unsuspecting bat boy and returned him to the dugout. Had it not been for Snow, Darren could have been trampled by Giants infielder David Bell, who also scored on the play
What the three-year-old Baker didn’t realize was that Giants first baseman JT Snow was barreling down at home plate.
Thankfully for Darren and his father Dusty, who was managing the Giants at the time, the quick-thinking Snow scooped up the unsuspecting bat boy and returned him to the dugout.
Darren Baker with father Dusty in 2013
Had it not been for Snow, Darren could have been trampled by Giants infielder David Bell, who also scored on the play. Bell is now the manager for the Cincinnati Reds, another position previously held by Baker.
‘That play is always the first thing I get asked about,’ Darren told The Athletic in 2019. ‘We could have won an important game, maybe I did something to help the team win, and it’s always the first thing I get asked about.’
San Francisco won the game, 16-4, but Anaheim won the series in seven.
Darren Baker was nearly drafted out of high school, but opted to instead join the Cal Bears, batting .327 over 55 games this season. He started 123 consecutive games for the school.
‘Darren’s one of those players every coach or manager wants on his team,’ Wareham coach Jerry Weinstein, a longtime player development leader in the Colorado organization, told The Athletic in 2019. ‘He’s worked hard to achieve everything he’s achieved, and I think he’s still a long way from being the player he could become. He would never ask for anything because he’s Dusty Baker’s son.’
His father, Dusty, was a two-time All-Star as a player, who went on to manager the Giants, Chicago Cubs, Reds, Nationals, and the Astros, who hired him last year.
Snow pulls bat boy Darren Baker to safety as Rich Aurilia prepares to score in the 7th inning during game 5 of the 2002 World Series
The Washington Nationals had some fun with their fans by reminding them that Darren Baker’s World Series moment took place 19 years ago