i feel so bad for Dusty. I’ve always liked him, just not as a manger. I hope he is alright, and I wish him the best, and hope he does alright in his tragedy.

All the best Dusty.

and i saw what it did to my mom. i hope for the best in this really tough time. baseball is so meaningless when compared to these kinds of things.

Dad went to bat for son Dusty

By Victor Contreras
vcontreras@sacbee.com
Published: Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009 – 12:00 am | Page 3C

Johnnie B. Baker, the father of Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker and head of the first African American family in the San Juan Unified School District, died in his Carmichael home Tuesday night.

He was 84.

Baker died of natural causes after a long illness that started after he suffered a stroke in January 2008, his son Victor Baker said Wednesday.

In 1965, Baker moved his family from Riverside to Carmichael, where Dusty attended Del Campo High School and excelled in football, basketball and baseball despite challenging conditions.

“Dusty got into a fight in one football game because another player called him a … " Victor Baker said. “My father told him, ‘Son, if you ever get in a fight on the field again, I’m pulling you out.’ Dusty had to get back at them with his speed.”

Without his father’s permission, Dusty Baker signed a contract with the Atlanta Braves after graduating from Del Campo, despite having a basketball scholarship to Santa Clara. His father filed a lawsuit against the Braves and won, withholding half the signing bonus until Dusty was 21. If Dusty Baker were to attend college today, his father arranged it so the Braves would still have to pay his tuition.

Dusty Baker played 19 seasons in the major leagues before becoming a coach. He managed the Giants for 10 seasons, and his father was a regular around the clubhouse in San Francisco. Dusty Baker managed the Chicago Cubs before Cincinnati.

Johnnie B. Baker, a Kings season-ticket holder since the team came to Sacramento in 1985, retired from McClellan Air Force Base, where he worked for 38 years while holding a second job at Sears selling televisions.

He is survived by his second wife, Mary; children Johnnie B. “Dusty” Baker Jr., Robert “Robby” Baker, Tonya Orozco, Victor Baker, Taria Michelot, Shunda Baker and Millard Baker; and 23 grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at American Community Church, 3300 Walnut Ave.