Victor Contreras: Dad went to bat for son Dusty

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.