Dusty Baker’s 26-year managerial career is reportedly coming to an end.
Multiple sources inside and outside the Houston Astros have told The Athletic that the 74-year-old World Series winner has informed the club that 2023 is his final season. Baker was a player and manager for 45 MLB seasons and is currently on a one-year contract.
His Astros were eliminated on Monday night in Houston in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series against the Texas Rangers, who are heading to the World Series.
When contacted by The Athletic, he declined to comment on his decision but said he was still undecided after Monday’s 11-4 loss.
“I don’t know, I haven’t had time to evaluate and think about my future because I’m at the bottom of the list because I’m not that kind of guy,” he told reporters.
Dusty Baker’s 26-year managerial career is reportedly coming to an end after the ALCS loss
“I don’t want to steal the spotlight or anything from these guys.” “You have to enjoy what we’ve done, think about how we can be better and then I’ll evaluate my situation in my life,” he continued.
“And so we’ll see. I’ll talk to my daughter. I have two grandchildren…I really betrayed them for my quest. I have two dogs, hounds, one year old, they wouldn’t even recognize me if I went into the house because I haven’t been home since February 10th.’
According to The Athletic, Baker, who has a career regular-season record of 2,183-1,862, will likely remain in baseball at some level.
His wife, Melissa, told the outlet that Baker “has a lot of knowledge to offer an organization,” but said he has not yet made a final decision about his future.
“I know he can help build a winner,” she said. “My husband just wants to win and he’s a winner.”
Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker argues with the referees before being ejected in Game 5
Dusty Baker of the Atlanta Braves poses before an MLB game at Shea Stadium in Queens
Astros manager Dusty Baker Jr. celebrates in the locker room after the 2022 World Series
Baker’s 26 seasons were exemplary, although he never won a World Series until last season, when Houston defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.
He was hired by Houston in 2020 after the sign-stealing scandal came to light in 2019 when it was revealed that the team’s hitters in 2017 incorrectly decoded opposing catchers’ pitch calls and passed that information to hitters in the batter’s box.
Baker, a former outfielder for the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers, began managing the San Francisco Giants in 1993. With legendary slugger Barry Bonds and former MVP Jeff Kent, the club won the 2002 National League Pennant, but failed to win the World Series against the Los Angeles Angels.
In the coming years he moved to the Chicago Cubs, the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Nationals, but was only able to win the biggest prize in baseball in 2022.
Baker is from Riverside, California. His 19-year career as a player was almost as impressive as his 26-year career as a manager.
The two-time All-Star finished fourth in MVP voting in 1980 before winning a World Series and a Gold Glove with the Dodgers the following season.
Baker also starred alongside legends like Hank Aaron, Steve Garvey and Mike Scioscia.
Then-Nationals manager Dusty Baker (right) is pictured with his son Darren in 2016
JT Snow guides bat boy Darren Baker to safety as Rich Aurilia prepares to score in 2002
Three-year-old bat boy Darren Baker comes out to get Kenny Lofton’s bat during Game 3
These days, Baker’s 24-year-old son, Darren, is a minor league player with the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate in Rochester. But Darren is best remembered for a moment in Game 3 of the 2002 World Series. As a three-year-old bat boy, Darren left the dugout early to retrieve the bat of Giants outfielder Kenny Lofton, who hit a triple off Ben Weber in the seventh inning, the Anaheim Angels substitute.
What little Baker didn’t notice was Giants first baseman JT Snow falling to the ground at home plate.
Luckily for Darren and his father Dusty, who was managing the Giants at the time, the quick-thinking Snow picked up the unsuspecting bat boy and brought him back to the dugout.
Had it not been for Snow, Darren could have been trampled by Giants infielder David Bell, who also scored in the game. Bell is now manager of the Cincinnati Reds, another position previously held by Baker.
“This game is always the first thing I’m asked about,” Darren told The Athletic in 2019. “We could have won an important game, maybe I did something to help the team win and it’s always the first thing I’m asked about.”
San Francisco won the game 16-4 but lost the series.