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Dusty Baker’s Son Darren, Of World Series Bat Boy Fame, Was Drafted Into The MLB And We Are Officially Ancient

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Dusty Baker Son Darren Baker

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  • Dusty Baker’s son Darren was nearly bowled over as the bat boy during the 2002 World Series.
  • 19 years later, he was drafted by the Washington Nationals as a legitimate prospect with serious wheels.
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Whether you were alive in 2002 or not — if you’re a baseball fan — you’ve probably seen the clip from the 2002 World Series. Dusty Baker’s son Darren (two years old at the time) was a little preemptive in his bat boy duties and nearly ended up at the bottom of an ugly collision.

Former San Francisco first baseman J.T. Snow had to swoop in and scoop him up by the dish.

Darren, who is now 22, was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 10th round of the MLB Draft on Monday night. He played four years at the University of California Berkeley and made quite the name for himself.

It is fairly common for MLB organizations to draft the manager’s son in the later rounds out of courtesy. That was the case in 2017 when Dusty was coaching the Nationals. His son was selected right out of high school in the 27th round.

No nepotism.

Despite the late-round flier, it was always certain that Darren was going to college. He has since made himself into a legitimate prospect and his 293rd overall selection (which is relatively early in baseball) had nothing to do with nepotism.

During the 2021 season, Baker slashed .327/.402/.354 and finished the regular season with 28 stolen bases. He was top-10 in the category and he is seriously speedy.

Baseball America ranked Baker the No. 187 prospect in the 2021 draft class. It’s easy to see why.

He can hit.

He can run.

He can play up the middle.

And he does ridiculous things all over the field.

Darren is a very different player than his power-hitting father, who is now coaching in Houston, but there is no doubt that he is legit. He’s come a long way in the last 19 years.

You can hear Snow’s recount of his Darren-saving scoop here:

We are officially old.