MLB fans are starting to see plenty of kin of past baseball legends surface in the majors and make names for themselves in recent years, with Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. surfacing as young superstars and others like Jackson Holliday and Jack Leiter soon to join them.
One former manager’s son already made his MLB debut in a much different capacity during the 2002 World Series, but he will soon be making his official on-field debut when rosters expand in September.
Washington Nationals prospect Darren Baker will be called up to the big leagues when rosters expand on Sunday, and baseball fans were introduced to him as former Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker’s son who almost got trampled at home plate when he was the batboy in the 2002 World Series for his father’s San Francisco Giants.
🚨 BREAKING: #Nats will call Darren Baker when rosters expand tomorrow.
Baker is 25 years old and has been in Triple-A Rochester all season where he has hit .285 with 20 doubles, 49 RBIs, and 38 stolen bases.
Baker hasn’t homered this season and has just six in his minor league career, but he will add even more speed to a Nats team that already leads the league with 187 stolen bases.
In the 2002 World Series, 3-year-old Darren ran out to grab the bat during a game and nearly got trampled by David Bell who was rounding third and headed for home, but first baseman J.T. Snow crossed home plate first and scooped Baker up on the way to save him from the traffic in one of the most iconic World Series moments in recent memory.
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. 👏 pic.twitter.com/0pOQd3scdY
Hopefully, Baker has learned from that mistake and can play with a bit more awareness this time around.