WASHINGTON, D.C. — Dusty Baker was right where he wanted to be.
Seated in the stands Sunday afternoon at Nationals Park, where he managed two of the best seasons in the franchise’s history, he watched as Darren Baker stepped to the plate to make his major-league debut against the Chicago Cubs. Had he gotten another managerial job this season or if this moment had happened a year ago, Dusty would not have witnessed his son’s first big-league moment.
“You’re upset about not having a job sometimes, but sometimes you look back and you weren’t supposed to,” said Baker, who managed the Cubs from 2003-06. “It’s part of life, because sometimes we think we’re in charge. We’re in charge of a little bit, but most of it’s out of our control and we have to learn to accept that was for the good in your life.”
Darren, 25, did not wait long to collect his first MLB hit. He jumped a first-pitch cutter from Cubs reliever Ethan Roberts and sent it up the middle for a one-out single in the ninth inning.
“I always thought he was gonna be,” Baker said of his son becoming a big leaguer. “That’s what he wanted, and he put in the time and the effort, and I thought he had the talent to do it.”
On Friday, Dusty Baker unexpectedly heard from Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo, who informed his former skipper that Darren was getting promoted to the big leagues as part of rosters expanding Sunday. Rizzo requested Baker not tell anyone the news, and he adhered, only revealing it to his wife and Darren’s mom, Melissa, and their dogs.
“Because if they repeat it, man, you know something’s going on,” Baker joked of the pets. “We just had to hold it for a day.”
Baker then had to play it cool when Darren called him Saturday to share that he was finally a major leaguer.
Darren Baker gets his first MLB hit on the first pitch he sees in the Bigs!
Proud father moment for Dusty Baker
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— MLB (@MLB) September 1, 2024
“This is a dream come true for him because it’s what he always wanted to do since he was little, when he was hanging out in this ballpark,” Baker said. ” … He saw all these guys, Bryce Harper, but now you’ve gotta, not respect them, but you’ve gotta realize that you’ve gotta perform against them in order to stick around.
“How many of these young men or people in life reach their lifetime goal at 25 years old? So you’ve got to feel very fortunate, very thankful, and now you’ve got to set new goals.”
Darren Baker, a 10th-round draft pick out of the University of California, Berkeley in 2021, is known for his speed and contact ability. He hit .285 with a .348 on-base percentage and 38 stolen bases in 112 games at Triple A this year. When breaking down Darren’s game as a baseball guy and not as his father, Dusty sees him as a fundamentally sound player who doesn’t make many mistakes.
Dusty recalled Darren, around 10 to 12 years old, sitting on the bench next to him when he would see a boneheaded play on the field and tell his dad, “That wasn’t a good play,” to which Baker then noted, “I don’t want to see you make that play.” The memory caused Baker, 75, to smile and chuckle, a reoccurring expression during the roughly 13 minutes he talked about Darren before Sunday’s game.
“He’s going to get stronger, the Bakers always mature late,” Dusty said. “I just see a guy with a lot of desire and perseverance. I mean, not because he’s my son, but he’s smart, and I always tell him, be ahead of the game. And when people come to see you, stand out for the right reasons and not the wrong reasons.”
In Game 5 of the 2002 World Series, J.T. Snow pulled Dusty Baker's son and Giants bat boy, Darren Baker, out of the way during a play at the plate.
22 years later, the Nationals are calling Darren up to the big leagues.
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— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 31, 2024
Baseball fans might remember Darren almost getting taken out at home plate during the 2002 World Series, ultimately saved when the San Francisco Giants’ J.T. Snow grabbed him by the jersey to pull him from harm’s way.
Darren doesn’t remember the sequence, Dusty said, though he is constantly reminded of the play.
“Even if you don’t remember, it’s quite a story,” Dusty said. “At the time it seemed kind of funny or embarrassing or whatever, but in the full circle of life, maybe it was supposed to happen.”
As much as Darren has learned from his father — all the time he spent around big-league ballparks and clubhouses, tapping into the knowledge of not only 26 years of managerial experience but an MLB career that spanned 19 seasons — Dusty, too, has learned from his son. Whether it’s been practical knowledge, like helping him with his phone or laptop and keeping him up to date on music, or being looked out for by his Darren and his sister, Natosha.
“Make sure we eat right, make sure we drink right and when he comes in, we say our prayers like we used to before we go to bed,” Baker said with a smile. “I’m proud of both my kids. I’m really proud of my son because when you make it where you want to, I mean, there are very few people that do what they want to do in life.”