From three-year-old batboy to major league draft pick; former Giants manager Dusty Baker’s son, Darren Baker, is all grown up.
Darren Baker, son of Dusty, selected by his father’s team, the #Nats, in Round 27. Yes, that kid. More on Darren: https://t.co/DAcKSNy87s pic.twitter.com/2XiEtgbne2
— MLB Draft (@MLBDraft) June 14, 2017
The now 18-year-old shortstop from Jesuit High School in Carmichael, California, was selected in the 27th round of the MLB draft by the Washington Nationals, a team currently managed by the elder Baker. However, Darren has already committed to play at the University of California, Berkeley and is not expected to sign.
Darren stole hearts in 2002, where he served as San Francisco’s batboy under his dad, who was manager at the time. One of the scarier moments in World Series history occurred during Game 5, when Darren darted out to retrieve Kenny Lofton’s bat during a scoring play. Luckily, hometown hero J.T. Snow was there to sweep him out of harm’s way, saving him from being potentially trampled by David Bell. Soon after, MLB passed the “Darren Baker Rule” stating that major league bat boys must be at least 14 years of age.
Fast forward fifteen years, where Darren was selected just one round later than his dad, who was drafted in the 26th round of the 1967 MLB draft courtesy of the Atlanta Braves. He hit .396 as a senior for Jesuit along with a .476 on-base percentage.
