Dusty Baker Is The Ultimate Player’s Manager
As a player Dusty Baker won a World Series title with the Los Angeles Dodgers. A number of players who have won a World series title to go on and win a title as a manager. The list includes such legendary names as Casey Stengel, Leo Durocher, Gil Hodges Red, Schoendienst, Billy Martin, Lou Pinella and Mike Scioscia. None of these however can lay claim to having smoked a joint with Jimi Hendrix which Baker has. He has his own winery now and allegedly along with his former teammate Glenn Burke credited with inventing the high five. And oh yeah he got a good luck message from Snoop Dogg prior to this year’s World Series.
After spending 19 seasons as an outfielder, making two All-Star teams and helping the Los Angeles Dodgers win the 1981 World Series Dusty Baker began his managing career in San Francisco. In his tenth year managing his first team the San Francisco Giants, he went to seventh game in the World Series but lost to the Angels. After compiling a long distinguished possibly Hall of Fame coaching career leading all five of his teams to division titles, in 2022 after 25 years he takes home the biggest trophy of his storied career.
His playing career started in Atlanta in 1968 at age 19 as an outfielder where he played with the legendary Hank Aaron. Aaron had called Dusty’s mother to encourage him to sign with Atlanta despite reservations about playing in the south as an African American. Baker had admitted praying to not to be drafted by Atlanta where he would have to play in the south with all the civil rights and war protests causing turmoil at the time. He later said “that was the best thing to ever happen to me, because I wouldn’t have met Hank Aaron.”
After a long a successful 19 year career in the majors Baker was working as a stockbroker until 1987 when he got a phone call from Aaron, who wanted him to help players find jobs after their playing days. Shortly after this led him to coaching in the minor leagues. In 2003 he led the Chicago Cubs to the National League Championship Series, but lost in Game 7 to the Miami Marlins in the infamous game where Cubs fan Steve Bartman got in the way of a fly ball that cost the Cubs dearly.
In 2012 his Cincinnati Reds won 97 games, but lost in the National League Division Series to the San Francisco Giants. 2016 was another successful year for Baker as a coach, but it ended in Game 5 of the NLDS to the Los Angeles Dodgers. 2013 brought more success for the Reds until losing the Wild Card game to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Astros postseason frustration, until now
In 2020 while coaching the Houston Astros he took the team to the ALCS, but lost in Game 7 to the Tampa Bay Rays. 2021 was another great season for the Houston Astros, the second season for Baker after taking over for A..J. Hinch in the wake of their cheating scandal and Baker took them all the way to the World Series, where they ended up losing to the Atlanta Braves in Game 6. In 2022 he became the oldest coach to ever win a World Series.
Cool as the California breeze where he resides in the offseason Baker has been appreciated by taking time to connect on a personal level with players, coaches and staff. And the good new is he will back at the helm managing the Astros Spring training kicks off next month in Florida.
He has survived prostate cancer and a stroke. After many close calls Baker, who went 29-31 in his first year as manager of the Astros in 2020 came within a win of reaching the World Series. After winning the pennant in 2021 and falling short yet again at 73 years old, Baker was already the oldest manager to reach the Fall Classic and the first black manager to win 2,000 games. Now he has that elusive title and is back for more in 2023.