Dusty Baker’s son, Darren, made his major league debut and didn’t waste any time closing in on pop’s stats, as Baker hit the first pitch of his career up the middle for a base hit.
The 25-year-old infielder got the call up on Sunday and joined the team once rosters expanded to 40 players.
đ¨ BREAKING: #Nats will call Darren Baker when rosters expand tomorrow.
His pops Dusty is a legend with over 2,000 managerial wins and a World Series championship, he won with the Houston Astros in 2022. He’s always been very supportive of Darren’s career and has to be overjoyed that his boy, who has been at several Spring Training camps throughout his career, is finally getting the official call-up.
âI didnât need an alarm today,â said Darren Baker, who learned of his callup Saturday.
Baker made his big league debut as a pinch hitter for the Nationals in the ninth inning of a 14-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
âThatâs something he doesnât even remember,â Dusty Baker said. âHeâs reminded of it constantly, but he doesnât remember. Thatâs quite a story. 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.â
When he got the word, Bakerâs first two calls were to his parents, who arrived in Washington from the West Coast early Sunday morning and arrived in time for the Nationalsâ series finale against the Chicago Cubs. The 25-year-old, Washingtonâs 10th-round pick in 2021, hit .285 with 49 RBIs and 38 stolen bases at Rochester, could play some outfield in addition during his time in Washington.
Darren Baker Has Long Been A Part Of World Series History As Bat Boy
Longtime baseball fans will remember Darren for an incident in the 2002 World Series, when he was serving as a batboy for his fatherâs San Francisco Giants. Baker infamously had to be pulled out of the way of an oncoming baserunner by Giants first baseman JT Snow during Game 5, moments before the 3-year-old nearly got run over.
The unforgettable incident led MLB to institute a new rule mandating that all bat boys are at least 14 years old.
The genes have got to count for something as well. Dusty was a feared batter who was also played in two All-Star games, won two World Series, a Gold Glove, a Silver Slugger and hit 242 career bro bombs.
Washington Nationals Continue To Produce MLBbrosÂ
Baker is another MLBbro to come through the Nationals system. Mike Rizzo and his staff have not been afraid to Draft Black players and their resurgence as a franchise is built around Bros such as shortstop CJ Abrams, pitcher Josiah Gray, slugger James Wood and minor league talents such as Baker and Elijah Green.
Baseball has found a new way of bringing discussions of sports science to fans, media, scouts and front office executives. Seemingly every week, baseball announcers are calling out the newest advanced statistic to bring a deeper meaning to the game particularly when it comes to hard hit balls coming out of the batterâs box.
It became so prevalent that MLBbro.com has gotten in the advanced stat business trying to analyze the combination of computer and advanced metrics.
While this newer form of information continues to become more complex and detailed. More and more developmental programs are being started to supposedly help the generation get to the next level in the game but with more understanding of why. While the game is going more toward the computer age to generate more power and bat speed, is technique starting to take a backseat?
Front foot weighted, elbow slot, push across the body, is very different than having a swing that can be launched instantly. Without having to shift weight first, get the front foot down, slot the elbow, and then swing. pic.twitter.com/zWy2jMhKXb
â Optimal Power Performance (@OPPtraining) June 20, 2024
The MLBbro managerial Icon, Dusty Baker had an emphatic statement that made it to social media when he was managing the Houston Astros that leads most to believe that advanced stats arenât everythingâŚ
âI see you guys in the video room, just looking at your swings, reading all of these stats. At some point, you have to say fâ all that sâ and go out there and hit. All I hear is yâall talking about launch angle and tendency and exit velocity. F–king exit velocity?! Motherf–king exit velocity?! How about motherf–king exit hits?!”
â Nicholas Enriquez (@Coach_Enriquez) June 18, 2024
Is Dusty Baker bashing advanced stats here? No. This is probably nothing more than a social media post taking a quote out of context for clicks. But this MLBbro great is wise enough to know that hitting a baseball has simple steps that don’t need multiple advanced stats to reinvent the wheel. From his first baseball spring in MLB in the ’60s with the Atlanta Braves (with Hank Aaron as his teammate) to currently being an special advisor with the San Francisco Giants, championships included as a player and manager shows one thingâŚ
The man may know what he is talking about when it comes to hitting. He does have enough clout in the game that Willie Mays gave him a statement to share to fans in Birmingham.
Willie Mays gave this statement to Dusty Baker on Monday, a day before Willie passed, to share with the city of Birmingham: pic.twitter.com/hQ0XmRKsmc
The bottom line is baseball is a very difficult sport. The speed of the game has increased. The complexity of the pitches are seemingly increasing every week and the pressures of the hitters to produce are growing with each at-bat.
But what Dusty Baker is trying to say is to not forget the basics of hitting a baseball. Sometimes it just comes down toâŚ
Keeping your head downâŚ
Keeping your hands backâŚ
Keeping the eye on the ballâŚ
Time it right and trust the mechanics that were taughtâŚ
Advanced stats in any sport, particularly baseball, donât tell the story of what happens in a game, or the passion and heart of a player. If you disagree, MLBbro.com will leave you with this video about the late Willie Mays, who didnât need analytics and advanced stats to shine.
“No cold metric or analytic contains that feeling that made us want to swing and throw and run and play like he did.”
Tom Rinaldi pays tribute to the man who truly transcended the game, Willie Mays đ pic.twitter.com/3cFKDxbqXD
On April 25th of this year, Baseball Digest announced the winner of their Lifetime Achievement Award, and this year it has been given to the great Dusty Baker. The award ârecognizes a living individual whose career has been spent in or around Major League Baseball and who has made significant contributions to the game.”
As this is the fourth time the award has ever been presented, Baker has added to a list of all time greats who have received this honor, joining inaugural winner Willie Mays, Vin Scully, and Joe Torre. âI never thought that Iâd be in the class of the people that received this award. I know that my late mom and dad would be proud of me. This is really special,â Baker said at the time.
Dusty had been in the league for 56 years as a player, coach, and manager. He played 19 seasons in The Show, primarily with the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers, and managed five teams between 1992-2023, including the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals, and Houston Astros. He is the only manager in MLB history to earn division titles with five different teams, and is seventh all time in managerial wins.
As a player, Baker was a two-time All-Star, a two-time Silver Slugger award winner and earned a Gold Glove in 1981, the same year he won a World Series with the Dodgers. He also copped the National Leagueâs first ever NLCS MVP award back in 1977, when he batted .316, with three home runs and a staggering 13 RBI in just four games.
As a manager, Baker led three teams to pennants, once in â02 with the Giants, and back-to-back in â21 and â22 with the Astros. In 2022, in his 25th managerial season, he finally won his first World Series as a skipper, the final piece of the puzzle to his Cooperstown-bound career.
He became the seventh man in MLB history to win a ring as a player and manager. It took him only 3,884 regular season games and 97 postseason games before that first World Series, which were the most in MLB history for both. At 73, he was the oldest manager to ever win a title not just in MLB history, but the history of all four major North American sports leagues (NFL, NBA, NHL).
Legendary career for Dusty Baker đ
âŤď¸ 26 seasons âŤď¸ 2,183 career wins âŤď¸ 3 pennants âŤď¸ 3x Manager of the Year âŤď¸ 2022 WS Champion đ pic.twitter.com/cfOKdsr0Q1
After retiring from managing in 2023, Baker is still in Major League Baseball as he is back in San Francisco with the Giants in a front office role. According to mlb.com, he joined the team as a special assistant to Farhan Zaidi, the team’s President of Baseball Operations.
There really isnât anyone more deserving of this award than Baker. The impact he has had on the game is arguably second to none, as heâs set the highest of standards on being a great leader on the field, and an even better role model off of it.
This MLBbro legend has a historical resume. Dusty Baker is a baseball savant with Hall of Fame accomplishments to back it up.
First manager in MLB history to lead five different teams to division titles.
Ninth manager to win both National League and American League pennants.
Three-time Manager of the Year Award winner.
Letâs take a closer at his accomplishments with the Houston Astros:
Baker finished with a 320-226 record in Houston, leading them to the playoffs four times, and collecting two AL pennants.
He is one of three Black managers in the history of the game to win a World Series along with Dave Roberts (Los Angeles Dodgers, 2020) and Cito Gaston (Toronto Blue Jays, 1992 and 1993).
His final game as a manager was a Game 7 ALCS loss to the Texas Rangers narrowly missing three World Series appearances.
Bottom line, Dusty Baker brought the Astros out of the era of the sign-stealing scandal of the 2017 World Series. Something that the franchise needed more than the wins and championships.
It didnât take long for the San Francisco Giants to hire Baker as a âSpecial Adviserâ to baseball operations.
Something that the President of baseball operations, Farhan Zaidi was very happy about when our MLBbro O.G. was first hired.
âI was fortunate enough to get to know Dusty when we overlapped in the organization in 2019, and Iâm excited to get to work with him again,â Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said in a statement. âWeâve had a chance to meet in person and discuss our shared vision of bringing championship baseball back to San Francisco. I learn something new in every interaction with him and look forward to leaning on his experience and perspective on the game.â
Houston Astros Lost Without Dusty
Well in this weekâs episode of âLife Comes At You Fastâ the Major League Baseball edition, the Houston Astros have fallen off the cliff as World Series contenders.
As of this writing, Houston is 7-16, losers of two straight, and have lost seven of their last ten.
In short, the Astrosâ championship culture ended with Dusty Bakerâs press conference.
The San Francisco Giants are two games out of first place in the NL West.
But are the baseball gods punishing the Houston Astros?
Itâs peculiar to give Dusty Baker or anyone with his track record of success and baseball acumen continuous one-year extensions making the job difficult with lame duck situations. But for Baker to receive them leading the team to two World Series seasons and coming up one game short in two others, itâs plain to see Houston didnât fully appreciate Dusty Baker and at times didnât share the same baseball philosophy.
Bakerâs final season with the Astros was an uneasy partnership instead of a united front. Our MLBbro was criticized for his lineups that sometimes did not include Chas McCormick.
So instead of having conversations about Dusty Baker being in the G.O.A.T. conversation for all managers instead of just MLBbro managersââŹÂŚ
Distractions that might have cost Baker and his crew a chance at one more championship.
Dusty Baker Always Figured Out A Way To WinÂ
While Dusty Baker figured out ways to win despite injuries and inconsistent play at times last season, this year Houston has bottomed out, particularly on the pitching mound.
Houston has the second-worst ERA (Colorado Rockies have the worst) in baseball.
The Astros pitchers collectively over 203 innings pitched among the starters.
JP France and Hunter Brown both have ERAâs over 7.00.
Even though Justin Verlander returned from the IL, Cristian Javier replaced him on Tuesday.
Even selling âbuilding for the futureâ to the fanbase wonât work at this juncture. The Astros have the 27th ranked farm system in MLB.
MLBbro.com knows only one man who could guide Houston back to prominence, but heâs working in San Francisco.
After the legendary Dusty Baker retired from his Astros managerial role at the conclusion of the 2023 season, his son, Darren Baker now has a chance to put the icing on the Baker legacy cake with a potential spot in the majors.
Darren, a second baseman on the Nationals, has been with his dadâs former squad since being drafted in the 10th round of the 2021 MLB Draft.
Darren Baker Excelling In Minor Leagues
In the minors, Darren shined with 265 hits and 38 stolen bases in 925 at-bats â earning him a spot in the Futures Game in 2022.
At his best, Baker smoked the baseball as part of the AAA Rochester Red Wings with a four-hit showing against the Bisons. He also showed off his legs Apr. 29 against the Saints with a double and two stolen bases.
In 2023, he raked with a .273 batting average and 41 RBI in AAA. As a result, he earned an invite to Washingtonâs 2024 Spring Training and looks to slot behind Luis Garcia Jr. in the depth chart.
So far, Darren has only appeared in three of the Nationalsâ seven Spring Training contests and has only appeared at the plate twice. In his most recent appearance, Darren faced his dad’s old team, the Houston Astros, and it was nearly dĂŠjĂ vu.
In 2023, Darren played the same squad, this time including his old man. There, he crushed a game-tying grand slam in the ninth â helping his squad win 11-7.
If the young Baker is able to turn heads throughout the month, he could lock in a spot in the majors at the age of 25 â following in the footsteps of his pops, who in his 19-year MLB career hit 242 homers and helped invent the “High Five” during his time with the Dodgers, where he also recorded his only 30-homer season.
With that comes hefty expectations for Darren, especially with Dustyâs playing career resulting in a World Series and two All-Star appearances. He’s already put himself in prime position just four seasons in.
Unfortunately for Darren, this time there were only runners on 1st and 2nd, but he still managed to draw a four-pitch walk. Though the Nationals were unable to capitalize, his efforts nearly propelled his squad over the Astros again â this time losing 10-8.
Maybe Darren needed his dad on the other side for things to go completely how he wanted, and thatâs still possible with Dusty taking a front office role with the Giants as a special advisor.
Dustyâs presence isnât the only thing that he left with Darren. His clutch gene, as illustrated, has allowed Darren to perform at his highest when it matters the most. Along with that, in an interview with MLBbro in 2022, Darren said he excels at doing a âlot of little things that help the team win,â and he may look to use those things to elevate himself to the majors come Opening Day.
Regardless, Darren has made a name for himself throughout his career, and he will look to continue it as Spring Training continues.
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