Not long after his Houston Astros were eliminated by the Texas Rangers in Game 7 of the ALCS, reports began to surface that Dusty Baker had already decided that 2023 would be his last as a manager. The Athletic’s Chandler Rome and Britt Ghiroli were the first to break the news.
Sources: Dusty Baker has told multiple people that 2023 is his last season as a manager. With @Britt_Ghiroli https://t.co/7xL5VS5Ize
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) October 24, 2023
Baker managed this season on a one-year deal, declining to address his future throughout this postseason run. If this is indeed the end of the line for him, he retires as one of the most accomplished skippers in the history of the sport, with a career 2,183-1,862 career regular-season record, three pennants and one World Series ring in 26 years in the dugout. That title came just last season, and represented the feather in the cap of Baker’s career — the one thing that had eluded him in otherwise-successful stops with the Giants, Cubs, Reds and Nationals.
The 74-year-old inherited a volatile situation when he replaced A.J. Hinch in 2020: Not only did the COVID-19 pandemic turn the baseball world and the 2020 season on its ear, but Baker also had to navigate both the fallout from the Astros’ cheating scandal and the turnover of a superstar-laden roster. Through all that turmoil, Baker remained among the game’s most beloved personalities, smoothing over any potential animus while making his smile and soft-spoken charm the face of what had previously been among the more reviled franchises in the league. It’s hard to imagine anyone who could’ve handled that particular powder keg more gracefully, and he was pretty darn successful on the field, too: Baker led Houston to four straight ALCS appearances, two World Series and the one title, with a .586 winning percentage that trails only Hinch in team history.
It remains to be seen what might be next for Baker, but here’s hoping he remains in the game in some capacity — maybe as a special advisor to a team on the West Coast, where the California native resides. No matter what comes next, though, his legacy in the game is secure, from his nearly two decades as a player with the Braves, Dodgers, Giants and A’s to his time at the helm of some truly iconic teams like the Barry Bonds Giants and the Mark Prior/Kerry Wood Cubs. For a time, it looked like his managerial record would be defined by near-misses and heartbreak; his Giants lost the 2002 World Series in seven games, and his Cubs suffered one of the greatest collapses in baseball history the very next year. From San Francisco to Chicago to Cincinnati to Washington, Baker racked up tons of regular-season wins but never managed to get over the hump — until 2022, that is.
Houston fell just short in its repeat bid this season, but it’s hard to fault Baker for that. He’s done just about everything it’s possible to do in a baseball life, and he’s done it all with wit and heart. Whatever’s next will surely be more of the same.
