Darren Baker still can't be a bat boy 10 years later

• J.T. Snow had to hoist the then 3-year-old Baker out of danger during the 2002 World Series
• For the following season, MLB instituted a rule that required bat boys to be 14 years old
• "It was fun bat-boying, but I'd rather learn and watch the game," Darren Baker says

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Ten years after Darren Baker nearly got run over at home plate when he wandered into the World Series action, he's still not old enough to be a bat boy.

The 13 1/2-year-old son of Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker is just fine with it, because these days he's a second baseman who appreciates watching the games to learn. He does plan to be a bat boy for a few games in 2013 after turning the required 14 on Feb. 11.

"It was smart, because I was so young and maybe if another kid is young he doesn't know what to do compared to an older kid who kind of understands more," Baker said Saturday, sitting in the dugout taking in the quiet scene some five hours before the first pitch of the Reds-Giants playoff opener. "Just parts of it, I remember a little bit of it when I got picked up at home plate. I remember Game 7 of the World Series. That's it. It went by so fast."

Five hours before the first pitch Saturday, Baker hopped around the dugout alone, leaned over the dugout rail and soaked in the scene. Yes, he said, he misses it here — even if the memories have faded some. He even ran inside to the clubhouse to grab his camera, then returned to snap a photo of the Blue Angels flying overhead for fleet week festivities.

Baker rooted for Washington to win on the season's final day so the National League Central champion Reds would be the NL's No. 2 seed behind the East-winning Nationals and open the best-of-five playoffs at San Francisco. His dad managed the Giants from 1993-2002.

It was here in October 2002 that the then-toddler ran out to retrieve the bat of his favorite player — Kenny Lofton — in Game 5 of the World Series against the wild-card Angels. With David Bell charging home, San Francisco's J.T. Snow quickly scooped up Baker and kept him out of harm's way. After that, the "Darren Baker Rule," as it became known, was established to require that bat boys be at least 14 years old.

"I think it was for the best because I like watching the game more. It was fun bat-boying, but I'd rather learn and watch the game," Baker said. "I might do it once or twice (next year), but most of the time I'll be in the dugout watching."

Baker — dressed in a full Reds uniform — planned to track down Snow before Saturday night's Game 1 of the NL division series, to say "just hi, just normal."

In 2002, the Barry Bonds-led Giants came within six outs of winning a World Series title in Game 6 at Anaheim, then lost in Game 7. It wasn't until two years ago that San Francisco finally captured the franchise's first title since moving from New York in 1958.

Little Darren was in tears after the '02 team fell short, then soon after moved to Chicago as his dad left the Giants on difficult terms and became manager of the Cubs.

"When I was 3, I understood the teams and the magnitude of the situation," he said. "I guess they just wanted to win badly."

His 63-year-old father, who recently missed 11 games while recovering from a mini-stroke and irregular heartbeat, was expected to receive a warm ovation from the sellout crowd at the Giants' waterfront ballpark.

"In the beginning, when they announce his name with the lineups," Darren Baker said. "After that, he kind of turns into the enemy."