Statistics and baseball go hand in hand, and last night Dusty Baker joined the two once again.
When his Houston Astros defeated the Seattle Mariners Tuesday night, Dusty joined the 2,000 win club, becoming the first Black coach to do so.
It’s a feat not lost on the long-time manager.
“I think about the people that made it possible for me to get in this position,” said Baker to KPRC 2’s Howard Chen prior to the game. “My dad, Jackie Robinson, Frank Robinson, Cito Gaston, the minority managers ahead of me.”
Connie Mack sits atop the MLB All-Time wins list with 3,731, an astounding number for sure.
Dusty is looking up at Mack as he currently sits in 12th place. In his immediate vision are three managers he should pass this season: Bruce Bochy (2,003), Leo Durocher (2,008) and Walter Alston (2,040).
By the end of this season, Baker will pass these three and reside in 9th place on the list.
Dusty Baker is with his fifth major league team and is the only manager to take five different teams to the postseason.
He did it with the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals and Houston Astros.
And while he’s still searching for that elusive World Series ring as a manager, something he came so close to with the Giants (2002) and Astros (2021), his record of 2,000-1,745 (.534), his three Manager of the Year awards (1993, 1997, 2000), eight division titles and two pennants is proof of his talent and success.
Most thought he wouldn’t do much with the Astros when he was hired in 2020.
Remember, Dusty was brought to Houston to clean things up after the sign-stealing scandal rocked the organization and baseball. All he did was win the AL Pennant in his first full season and make the World Series.
Dusty’s managerial success continues his success as a player.
In his 19-year MLB career (1968 – 1986), Dusty played with the Braves, Dodgers, Giants and Athletics. He was a .278 hitter with 1,981 hits and 242 home runs. He was also a 2x All-Star, Gold Glove winner, NLCS MVP and won a World Series ring with the 1981 Dodgers.
His resume as both a player and coach makes him a surefire Baseball Hall of Famer, so we’ll definitely see him in Cooperstown when he retires.
But until then, you know Dusty is already eyeing the second set of managers above him in Joe McCarthy (2,125), Bucky Harris (2,158) and Sparky Anderson (2,194).
