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Giants to keep lucky charm Baker's son will remain as batboy after incidentPosted: Saturday October 26, 2002 12:02 AMUpdated: Saturday October 26, 2002 9:43 AM
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- The son of Dusty Baker will be allowed to stay in the Giants' dugout at the World Series this weekend, although the manager will keep a more watchful eye on the young bat boy. Baker spoke with the commissioner's office Friday about the near-accident in Game 5 Thursday night in which 3 1/2-year-old Darren Baker wandered into a play at the plate and almost got run over. The close call sparked debate over whether Darren was too young to be so close to the game. "It's not going to happen again," Baker said after arriving at Edison Field, where San Francisco plays Anaheim in Game 6 on Saturday. "I'm hoping that he and other kids aren't prohibited from being in the dugout. I'm not proud of it. I don't like seeing my son all over TV in that light. Some people think it's cute, but I don't." Baker said he did not fear for his son's safety. Baseball doesn't have an age limit for when someone can start working as a bat boy, leaving that up to the individual teams.
"There is no prohibition, no directive or major league rule which prohibits someone that age serving as a bat boy," said Sandy Alderson, executive vice president of baseball operations in the commissioner's office. "We don't intend to prohibit it. But, on the other hand, I'm sure even Dusty would agree great care is appropriate for someone of his age under those circumstances. I'm sure that care will exist and had been arranged, and last night was a one-time occurrence." Darren has been a presence in the Giants' dugout for about two months and has become a good-luck charm for the team. When J.T. Snow scored on a seventh-inning triple by Kenny Lofton in Game 5, he discovered Darren in the middle of the action. The boy was standing directly behind Angels catcher Bengie Molina, with David Bell charging home at full speed. An alert Snow scooped Darren up and pulled him to safety. Lofton is Darren's favorite player, and the youth was trying to beat other Giants bat boys out of the dugout to retrieve the leadoff hitter's bat, Baker said. "Usually he stands behind me and I tell him to go before he goes out," Baker said. "That time, he was going to get a jump on everybody. We were all watching the ball. We thought it was potentially a home run." Both Baker's mother and his wife did not want Darren to participate in any more games this weekend at the World Series, which the Giants lead 3-2. The manager's mother even scolded him by phone after Game 5. But Baker wants to keep his son in the dugout. "I just have to monitor him a little closer," said Baker, who acknowledged the issue will probably come up at baseball's winter meetings in December. "I'm just hoping they don't come up with some Darren Baker rule that prohibits kids from being in the dugout, being able to do these things." |
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The Giants encourage players to bring their kids to work. 
