Last night, Dusty Baker and the Houston Astros finally did it.
It wasn’t that Houston made the World Series, for they have done that five times (2005, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022).
It wasn’t that the Astros won the World Series, for they did that in 2017.
No, it was that the organization won the World Series for their manager, Dusty Baker, something he’s long worked for and deserved.
Baker has been there before.
Last year, the then 72-year-old Astros manager led the team to the World Series, where they lost to the Atlanta Braves, 4-2.
His last World Series appearance came in 2002 when he led the San Francisco Giants to the Fall Classic, eventually falling to the Angels in seven games.
Last night, Dusty returned to the Game and proved that the third time is indeed a charm.
Baker’s career is filled with history, milestones and interesting facts.
He made his MLB debut as a 19-year-old rookie with the Atlanta Braves in 1968 and played in the League until 1986 when the 37-year-old retired after two seasons with Oakland.
On April 8th, 1974, while with the Braves, Baker was on deck when Hank Aaron hit his history-making 715th homerun, sending him past Babe Ruth for the All-Time home run record.
In 1981, Baker finally won his first World Series title as a member of the Dodgers. He had been with the team during their other two Fall Classic appearances (1977, 1978), where they fell both times to the Yankees.
Over an almost twenty-year playing career, Baker was named to the All-Star team twice, was a Gold Glove winner and NLCS MVP.
He retired and became a broker for a year, but then returned to the game as a coach.
After five years with the Giants, Baker was named team manager in 1992 and would take the helm in 1993 at the age of 43, becoming the youngest manager in the sport.
“I didn’t think it would happen this soon, although I had a plan that I would be a manager somewhere in five years,” said Baker at the press conference in 1992. “I’m excited. I’m psyched.”
And for the next 30 years, Baker has brought that same excitement to the game every season.
With the exception of his four years with the Chicago Cubs (322-326), Baker has coached every team to a winning record.
In ten years with the Giants, he went 840-715.
In six years with the Reds, he went 509-463.
In two seasons with the Nationals, he went 192-132.
And in three seasons with the Astros, Baker has gone 230-154.
Last year, when the Astros won the AL West, Baker became the first manager to win a division title with five different teams.
He also won his 2,000th game this past May, becoming the first African-American manager to accomplish that feat.
That’s leadership, coaching and winning.
Last night, it all came full circle, something Dusty has pondered about for a long time.
“Well, I thought about it a lot,” Baker said. “I tried not to dwell on it, but tried to have faith and perseverance and knowing that with the right team and the right personnel and right everything that this is going to happen. Had this happened years ago, I might not even be here. So maybe it wasn’t supposed to happen so that I could hopefully influence a few young men’s lives and their families and a number of people in the country through showing what perseverance and character can do for you in the long run.”
Dusty Baker has spent over 50 years of his life in professional baseball, impacting the lives of many different players, teams and cities during his career.
He’s now the third Black manager to win a World Series title, following Cito Gaston and Dave Roberts.
He’s also, according to Sarah Langs on MLB.com, the seventh person to win the World Series as both a player and a manager in the divisional era (since 1969), joining Alex Cora, Joe Girardi, Davey Johnson, Lou Piniella, Dave Roberts and Mike Scioscia.
Dusty made more history while joining that group, becoming the oldest manager (73) to win it all. As a matter of fact, Langs note that, per STATS, Dusty is “the oldest manager or head coach in MLB, NBA, NFL or NHL history to win a championship.”
But Dusty isn’t focused on his age or the history books; he’s just happy to be where he’s at.
“It’s just sheer joy and thankfulness,” said Baker. “It’s not relief at all. I mean, because everybody was talking about it more than I was even thinking about it. So I always said before that if I win one, I’ll win two, but you got to win one first.”
Last night, Dusty Baker got his one. Now let’s hope the Astros sign him to an extension so he can get his two.
