Dusty Baker is headed back to the World Series, after the veteran manager’s Astros triumphed over the Red Sox in the ALCS. This is the sixth time Baker has been part of the Fall Classic as a player (winning with the Dodgers in 1981), coach, and manager, and he is the ninth manager to lead both an American League and a National League team to a league pennant. While capping off his managerial career with a championship would seem like a storybook ending, Baker isn’t planning to retire even if the Astros win it all, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
Back in December, Baker was somewhat non-committal about his future with Houston, saying “Depends how I feel. Depends on how the team feels about me….You never know what changes are going to come about in life.” More recently, however, Baker has stated that he does want to keep managing into 2022 and perhaps beyond. Rosenthal writes that Baker would love to collect the 13 more regular-season victories he needs to reach 2000 wins for his managerial career, and obviously Baker has interest in helping guide the Astros to another run at the Commissioner’s Trophy in 2022.
Baker’s contract with the Astros is up after the season, as he was originally signed to a one-year deal with a 2021 club option year. Both Baker and team management has indicated that they will hold off on negotiations until after the year, though Baker has a pretty notable supporter in Astros owner Jim Crane. Talking with FOX 26’s Mark Berman, Crane reiterated that the two sides will talk after the playoffs are over, but said “Dusty deserves another shot for next year. We’ll see where it goes.”
Given all of the success Baker has enjoyed in his two seasons in Houston, it would count as a surprise at this point if the 72-year-old isn’t back on the bench next season. That said, there wasn’t much normal about the circumstances of Baker’s hiring in the first place, as the veteran skipper was brought on to replace the fired A.J. Hinch in the wake of the sign-stealing scandal. Crane personally hired Baker as manager even before the hiring of new general manager James Click, and most GMs would prefer to have their own managerial hire in place. Crane would obviously have the final say-so if he made a point of retaining Baker, though the owner has said that he and Click will mutually decide on Baker’s future.
Wanna bet that a tiny factor is that Dusty wants to manage longer than Tony LaRussa? Maybe not, but it would crack me up if true.
Haha. Yeah. They hate each other. There’s no way ol’ Dusty doesn’t get extended by the Astros. No one gets laid off immediately after managing a team to the World Series. My only question is how long his extension is going to be. At his age it shouldn’t be very long but I know he is going to push for as much $ as possible and it sounds like Crane is probably going to pay whatever it takes to keep him.
Yogi berra was let go by the Yankees after winning al pennant for not winning the series in his only year as manager rare but does happen. Baker was let go himself after getting to playoffs.
Mike Hargrove was let go by the Cleveland INDIANS, err um, I mean guardians, I mean the CBT (The Cleveland Baseball Team) after leading them to the playoffs in 1999. They won 97 games but lost in the first round. They replaced him with Charlie Manuel.
The PR heat the team would take if they choose to go elsewhere means to me the only way Baker doesn’t come back is if his agent demands too much. Given he need 13 wins and is unlikely to get another prime job, he’ll be back.
Johnny Keane was was the manager of the cardinals the same year and won that world series was fired and ended up managing the Yankees the next year. Total disaster
Dusty Baker left the Giants after managing them to the 2002 World Series.
I can see all your opinions. I do have a problem with the way Dusty handled his team back when he managed the Cubs. I heard players hated Sammy Sosa because Dusty let him get away with anything even if it pissed the other players off. That’s not even the big reason I disliked Baker’s time with the Cubs though. I fully believe Baker played a huge part in the injuries that basically killed the careers of both Kerry Wood and Mark Prior. He was frequently quoted as saying “I don’t believe pitch count matters. I don’t believe innings pitched matters.” Then his top 2 young superstar pitchers both fell apart because he abused them. It was just like what Bobby Cox did to Steve Avery. Kerry Wood, Mark Prior and Steve Avery all had a chance to be serious superstar pitchers in major league baseball. Their managers used them up, chewed them up and then spit them out like they were a stepping stone. I don’t like it when any manager does that. I think MLB fans missed out on what could have been spectacular careers from Prior and Wood if it weren’t for Dusty’s stubbornness taking it away.
I am hoping Mark Prior and the Dodgers sweep Dusty’s Astros
While I agree with everything you said, it takes a lot for a stubborn old dog to change his ways this late in his career.
Well dray16, you need to keep hoping because it’s not going to happen this season since the Dodgers just lost the NLCS to the Atlanta Braves.
When, next year? hahaha Trash ass dodgers dodging another world series
Have they fired Roberts yet? Lol
Hey dummy, Cox did no such thing with Avery, Steve had an injury and altered his delivery because of it and it cost him velocity. He also reinvented himself as a reliever. Some guys just don’t have the physical makeup for longevity.
This aged well….Go Braves
He worked Prior and Woods arms til they fell off and also took the “player’s manager” thing way too far. There was a lot of acrimony in that locker room when he left that had even actually leaked into the broadcast booth. Not a fan..
They won’t get that chance THIS year.
Yes Steve Avery was a good and up and coming pitcher with the other pitchers who were around him. But he got an injury, a pulled oblique muscle on his left side. Never healed properly and yes he changed his delivery to keep pitching. Bad mistake, hated it for him.
I think a bigger factor is that Dusty wants to be the oldest manager to ever win a World Series. He can do that if he wins it next year..
Personally I like Dusty, I think he’s a great manager. My only critique is that he’s a bit too passive with bad umpiring calls. There were probably three instances in the just completed ALCS where he should have challenged, but didn’t. He probably would have won all of them.
I like this narrative. Dusty keeps losing in the WS because he wants to be the oldest manager to win. All of his losing has been part of his master plan. He could have won, but why settle for a championship now when he could wait and become the oldest champion?
Seriously? Nobody knows when he will get another chance at winning a World Series.
From the GM’s point of view, I always think its a good idea for the new GM to keep the incumbent manager. That way, when things go south, the GM has effectively bought himself another couple years because he never got to run things with his own choice for manager.
Padres should have signed him when they had a chance.
Baker is s great manager but the Padres don’t have the talent the Astros have …
It’s obvious don’t have the talent that the Astros have. They don’t have that jerk Correa at SS either. But with Tatis at SS and Dusty Baker as manager maybe they could have had more success. Ya think?
No because they still don’t have the talent around Tatis and baseball isn’t a one man sport.
And you can hate Correa all you want. Dude is a baller
Dude is an overrated loudmouth. There are at least 5 better SS than him.
You can dislike Correa all you want, but saying there’s at least 5 better SS is just hating. Get real.
Evidently you don’t think much, Corky.
There’s four in the NL West. Tatis, Seager, Crawford, and Trevor Story are better at SS than CC. YOU WANT ME TO CONTINUE? There’s also Trea Turner and Manny Machado that are true SS playing out of position. That’s just in the NL West. CC is a bum.
Correa is supremely athletic, but I’d pick other SS over him. Correa does not play enough games. Durability is worth something. But when he’s healthy, Correa is elite.
You don’t know baseball if you think Correa is a bum.
I agree with Tatis and Turner but that is it.
Both saying we will wait till after the playoffs to discuss things is a great thing for Dusty! He sees there’s openings and Dusty is sure going to use it to his advantage!
They have enough injured arms. Dusty would not have been the answer.
Rarely do you see a team so annoyed at their manager’s success.
Dusty has done a great job guiding a team through the ugliness of the cheating scandal that still lingers in the mind of lots of fans. Baker looks great for his age 72 that he said himself “age is just a number”. Couldn’t agree more age is so overrated until isn’t…
I would love to have Baker back. But also Strom may retire so who may be pitching coach. I dread what could have for either. Strom has been great for Houston. Would Verlander retire to be pitching coach. But who knows they both could be back. I have liked Baker at helm. Hinch was great until the scandal. But glad he found new job. I do not put 2017 all on him. But glad Luhnow has not come back. He had baggage from St. Louis and did some great things with Verlander and Greinke being his last ones. But just my thoughts. This team may look different for 2022 with both them gone and possibly Correa gone. But Baker has done great and hope is back but will not do anything till after WS
Verlander has a year or two left in the tank
Not sure how much data there is on 38-year old pitchers bouncing back from TJ surgery. Hardly can call it a sure thing.
Good pitchers rarely become pitching coaches. Pitching coaches are usually former top prospects who failed to become greats due to injury. See Mark Prior. Matt Harvey seems like he might fall into that category one day.
Mark Prior can not be considered a great pitching coach. When you have Scherzer, Kershaw, Buehler and a $200m payroll, it probably has more to do with the talent.
Josh Miller has been the Astros co-pitching coach this year along with Strom.
Dusty Baker deserves to be Manager of the Year. The Team lost RHP Justin Verlander for the season, 3B Alex Bregman missed >two months of the season, OF Michael Brantley missed time,, SS Carlos Correa had a DL stint, RHPs Zach Greinke, RHP Jake Odorizzi, and Jose Urquidy missed significant time. 2B Jose Altuve has dealt with a sore knee since before the All-Star Break. RHP Lance McCuller is done for the playoffs.
Astros used 31 pitchers throughout the course of the year, Astros GM James Click used AAA and the waiver wire for OF/INF reinforcements.
Dusty provided a steady hand, developed the Astros youngsters, and has done a simply incredible job keeping the team focused despite the continuous harassment, threats, and trolling.
Best managerial performance in team history.
thunder – I don’t disagree about best managerial performance.
And the worst managerial performance? Has to be Jimy Williams.
He inherited a 93-win team, never made the postseason, went 44-44 three years later before being fired, and his replacement that same year went 48-26 and came within one game of the World Series.
Brad Mills was really bad too.
Kudos to Dusty, an accomplished player and manager, the only thing left is the ring as a manager. I am not an Astros fan but a fan of the game.
@lefty. Dusty Baker already got a World Series ring way back in 1981 as a player.
Which is why Lefty said “as a manager”. :0)
While i will not root for the Astros directly i do hope Dusty finally gets his ring
Nah Dusty doesnt deserve a damn ring as manager at all, he’s done nothing to earn it.
sounds like you haven’t watched much if any baseball if you think that
Sounds more like he’s just a bitter A’s fan that hates Houston.
I don’t like Houston either but i hope he gets another ring
Dusty deserves a ring as a manager.
Why?⚾️
He doesn’t deserve a ring as a manager. I don’t know about other teams but I know he screwed up with the Nationals.
He screwed up the Giants in 2002 (and, frankly, 1993 as well). He screwed up the Cubs as well. Guy’s constantly given loaded rosters and he finds a way to blow it.
Steve Bartman.
I guess you forgot. Bartman wasn’t the only one to go after the ball. And Alou years later said he wasn’t going to catch the ball.
What does Baker have anything to do with Bartman. He defended him. Basically saying those fans should be ashamed
I guess you forgot that Bartman deflected the ball, not the others who reached for it. Alou doesn’t recall saying he was never going to catch it. He did say it was time to move on and forgive him, which is very big of Alou. I wasn’t hating on Bartman at all. Good for Dusty to defend him. More proof why he deserves a ring. If you’re gonna bring up the 2003 Cubs when you talk about Dusty, then you should bring up Bartman. Objectively speaking, Bartman played a role by deflecting it. Some times, all you need it is one hit, one play, one something and that was it, as the Marlins scored 8 runs immediately after. From there, the Marlins go on a comeback and win the series.
2003 was the year we were all denied what would have been a glorious World Series, probably the most watched in MLB history.
All because of two boneheaded mistakes, just two days apart.
Not with Houston.
With any one, Houston included.
The Bartman ball was late in game 6; the Cubs still had a chance to win that game. Then they had a chance to win the series by winning game 7 the next day. Blaming Bartman is just a lazy man’s way of avoiding the obvious: the Cubs failed in the field.
I never said Bartman was the only reason why the Cubs lost.
Good point. A lot of the blame should’ve been put on Alex Gonzalez who had like .984 Fldg %age. 8 errors all year. The cubs had a 3-1 series lead. It wasn’t there time.
If it’s against the Dodgers. I hope she doesn’t have the chance.
*he*
If the Dodgers manage to force a game 7 tonight and then complete an improbable comeback against Atlanta, then why wouldn’t Dusty have the chance to win a ring? Maybe he could die, I guess. Hope not.
He played with the Braves too. Don’t forget he was on deck when Hank Aaron passed Babe Ruth.
Dusty is doing a great job,
But the credit really goes to the hydro company for providing energy for the buzzer to worki
What buzzers?
Real interesting how the Astros never won 13 in a row during the regular season
Real interesting how the Astros beat the A’s and Red Sox back to back years in almost the exact same fashion.
These scumbuckets are still cheating, its obvious to anyone with eyes or who isn’t a mentally ill homer (homerism is a form of mental illness).
They played the Ray’s in the 2020 ALCS, not the A’s. They were 2 wins short in the regular season of winning 13 in a row. In fact, they haven’t won 13 in a row in the post season either. Your point is what exactly? No, it’s just obvious to bitter people who want it to be true.
13 in a row is arbitrary, we can accuse the As of cheating… like that?
He’s just a mad A’s fan, and I mean that in both uses of the word “mad”. Here in the US it means angry, while he appears to be in the UK where that word means crazy. So he’s both crazy and angry.
AsfanFromJollyOlEngland. Time to channel your demon, cliches, etc. Here goes:
Me thinks thou doth whinge too much. Might your rotting teef be messing with your ‘ead, mate?”
“Your knickers are so tightly wound in a bunch, your hemorrhoids are in a tizzy!”
Stop being a wanker! Cheers!
I was at Games 6 & 7 of the 2002 World Series. Sorry to see Dusty denied but LOVED seeing Bonds not get a ring.
Sign of a poverty a fan: caring more about the greatest player ever not winning a ring. Sucks to have your life, be better.
Based on your reply above, A’sfaninUK, you telling another person “sucks to have your life, be better” is incredibly ironic. Also, homerism isn’t mental illness. You’re wrong about that.
What a moron. In the comment above, he bellyaches about the cheating Astros, but the obviously-cheating Bonds is the greatest player ever? Just stop.
Dusty always just looks so cool and collected sitting atop the dugout. It doesn’t matter if it’s 1993 or 2021. Dusty is just smooth.
A Dodger-Astro rematch would be interesting. The boos in L,A. should be deafening. And when in Houston it would be awesome if the Dodgers hired some detectives and made a show of sweeping the stadium for hidden cameras! Publicly state that you have ex intelligence agents present to detect cheating. The Stros haven’t been properly humiliated or punished in my opinion. The players on the 2017 team should have faced a one year suspension.
Because properly punishing them would open the floodgates. Remember: the MLBPA protected them.
What “floodgates”? Its only the Yankees and Red Sox who cheat too. Whoop de doo, let all 3 teams get some personnel forever bans.
What flood gates? You’d see all kinds of players speaking up and accusing others and thus, a lot of stuff could to light, MLB would lose profit due to kicking out or suspending an entire team (after all, why would an Astros fan go to a game if the team has no players), etc. You would be a terrible baseball commissioner. Guess what: Chris Brassitt defended the Astros. How does that make you feel?
Yes, MLB went above and beyond to protect the players – I thought Correa would at least receive a suspension. Now when Correa hits free agency, he will become one of the highest paid players in the game.
I’m fine with no players being punished, for two reasons:
1) If your bosses tell you to do something, it’s kinda hard to say no
2) Full immunity for the players was the only way MLB could conduct a thorough investigation
@bpax. I really like the Braves World Series odds after they beat the Dodgers today or tomorrow. The Braves lineup will be outstanding with a DH. Rosario/Albies/Freeman/Duvall/Pederson/Swanson/Soler/d’Arnaud/Riley in no particular order should be devastating.
They aren’t getting Hinch back so Dusty is probably the best option.
Drunk all the time.
bingo – hence letting his small child run on the field during a world series
You mean LaRussa…
Hard to believe Dodger fans on here still complaining about the “17” Series. Let’s see whose team was affected big time by the spin rate? Ohhh that’s right it was the Dodgers. I guess they will complain about 17 until they win a legit World Series. Not a 40%
The Astros have never won a legit WS in their lives, stop supporting cheating scum who should have all been banned forever like the Black Sox were.
Its kind of impossible to cheat by banging on a plastic bin when its so loud in that park during the playoffs, you can’t hear yourself think. But let’s forget about logic when it doesn’t fit the narrative.
Astros cheating efforts yielded no returns. A comprehensive analysis of the Astros scheme revealed it actually hurt the Astros. In my opinion, Altuve’s conscious (he refused to participate) took the air out of that scheme.
Alex Cora, the architect of the Astros scheme, is wholly embraced by Red Sox Nation. Correa, the player with the most vested interest in that scheme, will land one of the richest sports contracts on the planet in free agency – and will face a scenario where fans that booed him incessantly throughout the season will happily cheer him when he wears their uniform.
Meanwhile, players on the Astros that were either in the minor leagues in 2017 or on other teams will keep getting incessantly booed, harassed, trolled, etc.
The Astros have a new GM, new Manager, new Baseball Operations department, radically overhauled scouting department, and one of the highest roster turnovers in less than two years.
New Team, new identity.
The Team changed. Its haters won’t.
The Astros haven’t won a WS legitimately. Maybe this is their year?
In Dusty We Trusty.
Lindor is the greatest left fielder of all time!!!
Baker has never been regarded as a great manager strategically speaking but I’ve always thought his best asset was his consistent even demeanor. Never to high or too low, comfortable in his own skin, confident in his ability and not afraid of failure.
Regardless of outcome, this is the right man for this squad.
Baker has had some great regular seasons. He does okay in the playoffs. Kind of mismanages at times in post season, but I am still hoping to see him get that managerial ring this year.
Dusty is not great at the strategic aspect of managing, but he knows people. He develops real relationships with his players. It’s a part of managing that analytics can’t take into account because it’s an intangible benefit. But I feel it matters. I know people hate the Astros cuz they cheated, but they are a very good team and I have to assume they’re not cheating any longer. With that in mind, I’m rooting for Dusty to get that elusive ring. I’m going Houston over Atlanta in 6.
Dusty is a lot better strategically than many managers including Boone and Cora.
Like leaving Valdez in for 8 innings, when Cora would have pulled him after 5.
One of the most overrated managers in the history of MLB
Latest on baker is he’s managin the Houston Astros.
The World Series would be a complete blowout if McCullers was healthy. At least this way it might be competitive without him.
@Greenwood Porter
Would it?
‘The Dodgers were going to beat the Braves’ too, they didn’t.
You guys have all the pressure because the Braves are ‘not supposed to be there’, no one picked them, but they are there.
Astros weren’t supposed to be here either. Their projected win totals were in the 86-92 range with an assessment that their championship window was closing/if not already closed (given the roster turnover). Astros were pegged as a team that still had talent but lacked the overall organizational depth to compete with MLBs elite teams.
Most analysts believed they would win the division (considered on of the weakest in MLB); but would not win a playoff series against the more talented, teams MLB. Especially after the Astros losing record in 2020 and poor performances from Altuve and Bregman.
You mentioned pressure. Most of the players on the Astros were not with the team in 2017 or 2018, yet they are ALL booed, harassed, trolled – and in some cases, fans toss stuff at or near the players. Spring Training was brutal for all the players. What a welcome to the big leagues for the younger players.
2021 is the Astros against everyone else. I believe that the insane hatred lobbied against the team (including the 22 players that arrived after the cheating) is motivating the team to exceed expectations.
Watching Dusty Baker manage Yordan Alvarez (24), Kyle Tucker (24), Framber Valdez (27), Luis Garcia (24), Christian Javier (24), and Jake Meyers (25) as they develop into the new core nucleus for future of the rebranded Astros. has been really fun to watch.
There is something seriously wrong with Houston being in the AL. Please get rid of commish idiot and FIX baseball. I believe there ought to be a Constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter.
Baker will retire after WS
I think he will follow his children’s activity more and knowing he reached WS is a great reward for his career.
His house is a baseball training camp for his kids as they grew up near a little league field. not far away from CAL where Darren goes to. He is a very personal and likeable person in the area he resides and came to watch little leaguers when he was not managing a team.
By the title I thought something happened to him