Staff Report
Major League Baseball legend Dusty Baker is among five outdoorsmen who will be inducted into the California Outdoors Hall of Fame this weekend.
The honor will be bestowed at the International Sportsmen’s Exposition at Cal Expo at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 18. A special presentation by the Golden State Salmon Association to previous inductee Dick Poole precedes the induction ceremony at 11 a.m.
Baker is an inspirational speaker, fundraiser, leader of youth and former baseball champion who has inspired thousands across the nation to head to the outdoors with a personality that mixes honesty, vibrance, buoyancy and tough-love.
He is also known to California outdoor enthusiasts as an angler and duck hunter of renown who has inspired thousands across the nation to head to the outdoors. Baker has fished for dozens of species across the U.S. and western hemisphere: fly-fishing for brown trout in Montana and, with conventional gear, for peacock bass in Kauai. He has sought sturgeon on the Columbia River, tarpon off the coast of Mexico, giant bluegill in Missouri, bass in Florida, and many species in San Francisco Bay, the Sacramento River, Delta, Central Valley and on lakes in the Bay Area foothills and throughout California.
“Not only do I love it, but I need to be out there. I just gotta be outdoors, There’s something about it,” Baker said.
Baker credits his dad for his love of the outdoors.
“I really love my dad for turning me on to fishing when I was a kid. We fished almost every weekend,” he said. “The thing that I remember the most was getting up at 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning. My dad would already be up, ahead of the alarm, and I would say, ’Hey, Dad, let’s go.’ Those are some of the best times I’ve ever had.”
He in turn, passed along his passion for the outdoors by taking youth on adventures to waterfowl marshes, allowing children to experience the magic of the marsh coming to life at dawn, while he regales the kids with talk of the various birds, their behaviors and calls.
Baker has contributed his dynamic and inspirational speaking skills to fundraise for several organizations and is a champion of the California Waterfowl Association. His success led to All American Speakers, where he is contracted to provide inspirational speeches to groups across North America.
Baker and the other four inductees join more than 100 people who have been inducted to the hall since its establishment in 2002.