When he was the Giants' manager, Dusty Baker might not have realized it at the time, but he was signing a ball for someone who would one day become one of the most well-known actors in Hollywood.
All he knew was a young kid with bleached hair wanted his autograph. That fan was Zac Efron.
Efron, a longtime Giants fan, recently told a story about his encounter with Baker on an episode of "Hot Ones."
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Without skipping a beat, Efron talked about a special baseball he has that was signed by the former skipper. But there was a fun story behind it.
"He drove by, and he was on a motorcycle, so he didn't have a window he could roll up," Efron said. "I ran up to him with a baseball, and I was like 'Will you sign this?' I had a blue pen and the sweet spot of a brand-new ball, and I showed it to him, and Dusty was like 'Ah, I can't right now, I gotta go to church.'"
Efron said after hearing that response, he assumed that just meant Baker didn't have time to sign the ball, even though he said he would be back in 30 minutes.
San Francisco Giants
Baker left. Efron was sure the three-time Manager of the Year wouldn't return, but Baker and his motorcycle did 45 minutes later.
"I was like, 'No way!'" Efron recalled. "And he literally pointed right at me, and was like, 'Come over here.'"
The "High School Musical" star got his autograph. It meant a lot to him that Baker made the return trip to give him that signature. And I'm sure the motorcycle was a nice extra touch.
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"It was really cool," Efron described.
Baker was the Giants' manager for a decade from 1993-02 and finished with an 840-715 record. He's now managing the Houston Astros.