Baker was up close to historic homers

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

Spending this past season up close with Barry Bonds as he set a major league record with 73 home runs was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Unless you are Dusty Baker.

"I've had it twice in my lifetime," Baker said Thursday night, poolside in Waikiki. "Remember, I was Hank Aaron's teammate (in 1974)."

That, of course, was the year Aaron broke Babe Ruth's career home run record with his 715th blast. Baker, then an outfielder with the Atlanta Braves, likes to talk baseball even in his offseasons now as manager of the San Francisco Giants.

Especially in Honolulu, where he is here for the third straight year helping teach fundamentals at the Hawai'i Winter Baseball Camp at Les Murakami Stadium.

Help from many coaches

"It's something I look forward to," Baker said of his Hawai'i visits. "It's cool. It sets the tone for a positive attitude toward next season. The season is long, and it takes a toll on you. (Being here) gives me strength, because where we live everybody's in a hurry, but in Hawai'i there's no stress."

The camp, going on all day today and tomorrow, is for players ages 13-18. Besides Baker, the coaching staff includes Giants coaches Ron Wotus, Sonny Jackson and Juan Lopez, Arizona Diamondbacks pitching coach Bob Welch, Milwaukee Brewers hitting coach Gary Matthews, Diamondbacks scout Mack Babitt and Kalani High graduate and 11-year major league veteran Lenn Sakata, now the manager of the Giants' Double-A affiliate in Shreveport, La.

Former and present professional players and coaches from Hawai'i also will assist with instructions.

The camp has been informally become known as the "Dusty Baker Camp," but Baker said what he likes about it is the involvement of the local coaches.

"When most of us look back on our baseball careers, the coaches who stand out are the amateur coaches," Baker said. "The coaches in Little League, high school ... I like mixing in those coaches, because we're only here for two days. Those guys are the coaches who can really make a difference in a kid's life."

The camp's enrollment has increased significantly each year, but Baker said that is not the primary goal.

"It's about being a good teacher," said Baker, a three-time National League Manager of the Year. "There's a lot of good talent on this island."

Hawai'i's talent pool

The homegrown talent includes Waipahu High School graduate Jerome Williams, a pitcher who is moving fast up the Giants' farm system. Williams pitched at Double-A Shreveport last season.

"We're high on him," Baker said.

According to Baker, Hawai'i is an ideal place to develop young ballplayers. He noted one of his Braves teammates was Roosevelt alumnus Mike Lum, and also cited St. Louis graduate Benny Agbayani of the New York Mets as an example of the potential in Hawai'i.

"Everything here is conducive to baseball," he said. "Especially the weather."

The American way

Baker also touched on other baseball topics:

• On the Giants' season: "I thought we played just as well as last year (when San Francisco won the West Division); there were just a few differences. The Diamondbacks didn't get hurt, so that helped them. But you can't take anything away from Arizona. Sometimes it's not always what's wrong with you, sometimes you just get beat. That's how it was this year — we didn't lose (the division); we just got beat."

• On contraction and the state of baseball: "We're in a state where no one knows exactly what the state is. We don't have normal issues. But the disparity (between big and small market teams) wasn't a secret. It's been happening for a long time. They're trying to get to a system that works for everybody, but it's hard because we don't have that kind of utopia in our society. McDonald's is not going to help Burger King, and Burger King is not going to help Taco Bell, and Taco Bell is not going to help somebody else. You know what I'm saying? That's just the American way."

• On Bonds allegedly receiving death threats during his march to the record: "I was there when Hank got those (in 1974), and it was a lot worse back then. I guess it's a sign that things have improved, but (receiving) one is not necessarily better than a 1,000. There shouldn't be any."