A Legendary Career: Dusty Baker's Journey Through Baseball History
From winning a World Series as a player with the Dodgers, to leading the Astros to a title of their own, Dusty Baker knows a thing or two about winning.
Johnnie B Baker Jr. was born June 15th, 1949 in Riverside California. Baker Jr. would earn himself the nickname “Dusty” from his mother early on in his childhood and the name stuck. Dusty grew up infatuated with sports, primarily basketball, but also enjoyed playing baseball.
His father, who was in the Air Force, took a job in Sacramento when Dusty was 14, so when the family moved Dusty began attending Del Campo High School. Baker was an all around athlete. He had received a scholarship to play basketball at Santa Clara University, but he was also garnering attention from MLB scouts. It was well known that Dusty’s father was hell-bent on Dusty attending college, even going so far as telling MLB teams to not potentially waste a draft pick on Dusty because he would be attending school. The Atlanta Braves took a chance on Dusty though in the 1967 draft, and against his father’s wishes, Dusty accepted their offer.
MLB Career
What influenced Dusty the most was the Braves sending Hank Aaron to take Dusty under his wing and convince him that signing with the Braves was the right decision. Dusty was officially a part of the Atlanta Braves organization, and would only have to wait about a year for his MLB debut. Baker would be called up September 7th, 1968 but would only appear in 6 total games for the Braves that season. Over the next few years Dusty would spend his time in the Minor Leagues trying to earn an actual roster spot for the Braves.
Finally, after spending most of the 1968-1971 seasons in the minors, outside of a few games here and there, Dusty Baker was on the Braves Opening Day roster heading into the 1972 season. The right handed outfielder would spend a total of eight solid years with the Braves. Dusty was then traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers following the 1975 campaign after he had requested a trade. Los Angeles is where Baker’s career would really take off. His first four seasons were solid, but in 1980 Dusty had a breakout season. Baker hit 29 home runs, had 97 RBI’s, a .294 batting average, and a .842 OPS. This success led to Baker’s first Silver Slugger award and earned him 4th in the NL MVP race for the year.
Dusty would continue to add on to his accolades in 1981 as he would earn his second Silver Slugger, his first All-Star appearance, and his first Gold Glove. I bet if you asked Dusty what the best part of that season was though, he would not name a single one of his individual awards. That year Dusty Baker won his first, and only as a player, World Series Title with the Dodgers. Dusty was a champion. Dusty would spend a total of eight years with the Dodgers and even earned another All-Star appearance in 1982, but following the 1983 season he was a free agent. The 35 year old veteran outfielder would go on to sign with the San Francisco Giants for the 1984 season before playing his final two seasons with the Oakland Athletics. Following the 1986 season, Baker was once again a free agent, but he decided it was time to hang up the cleats and officially announced his retirement. Over a span of 19 years Baker left his mark on the game, slashing .278/.347/.432 with 1981 hits, 242 home runs, 1013 RBI, and a career 37.0 WAR.
San Francisco Giants Manager
Following his retirement Baker would begin working as the first base coach for the San Francisco Giants in 1988. He aspired to become a manager, and told himself that if he was not managing within the next 5 years he would step down. That dream came true in 1992. The Giants gained new ownership led by Peter Magowan, and Dusty Baker was hired on as the clubs manager that December. Dusty’s first season went about as well as you could have hoped. The Giants had an overall record of 103-59, which is great, but unfortunately at the time only four total teams made the playoffs and the Giants fell right behind the Atlanta Braves, 104-58, in the NL West.
It was still enough to earn Baker the NL Manager of the year award though, his first of three total! I am sure Dusty would attribute much of that season’s, and many that followed, success to his left fielder by the name of Barry Bonds. Ever heard of that guy? Bonds won the NL MVP that season, his 3rd of 7 total in his career. The next three seasons were not as desirable as the Giants failed to even achieve a winning record, but in 1997 Dusty got the Giants back on track. With an overall record of 90-72 the Giants would make their first postseason appearance under Baker, but it would end swiftly following a 3-0 sweep to the Florida Marlins.
Dusty would get another shot at the title in 2000, but would once again fall short in the Divisional Series. 2002 was when Dusty and the Giants finally made the run they had been looking for. After earning a spot in the playoffs with a 95-66-1 record, one of the very few ties you will ever see on an MLB record, they beat the Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals to earn a matchup with the Anaheim Angels in the World Series. Tragically the Giants would fall to the Angels in 7 games, and this would be the end of Dusty's run as the Giants manager. The relationship between Baker and the Giants ownership had grown sour and the Giants declined to renew Baker’s contract. Dusty would finish his 10 year run with the Giants with a 840-715 overall record and one NL Pennant.
Chicago Cubs Manager
Immediately after leaving the Giants, it seemed almost guaranteed that Baker was going to end up with the Chicago Cubs. Dusty was signed to a 4-year contract in 2003 making him the Cubs new manager. Taking over a team with the likes of Mark Prior and Sammy Sosa would be any manager's dream, and in his first season as manager Dusty had the Cubs in the playoffs.
The Cubs would win a tight series versus the Braves before going on to face the Florida Marlins in the NL Championship Series. The Cubs were leading in game 6 of the series and were only six outs away from the NL Pennant. Then disaster struck, that disaster being the infamous Steve Bartman situation. Steve Bartman was just a regular fan that day when a ball was hit toward him over on the left field wall. Cubs outfielder, Moises Alou, came sprinting at the wall to make a play on the ball, but Bartman had reached over the fence to try and make a play of his own. Bartman’s attempt caused Alou to miss the ball and since that moment everything went downhill for the Cubs.
They would go on to blow the lead and lose the series in 7 games to the Marlins. The seasons that followed were forgettable as the Cubs failed to make the playoffs over the next three seasons, and even have a losing record in 2006. Baker himself announced his contract was not being renewed following the 2006 season.
Searching for Success (Reds & Nationals Manager)
A year after departure from the Cubs, Baker was hired as the manager for the Cincinnati Reds. He was even the first black manager in the club's history. The team's first few seasons under Dusty were rough, but in 2010 Baker and MVP award winner Joey Votto, led the Reds to a 91-71 record and Baker was back in the playoffs. The Reds were set to face off against the Philadelphia Phillies, and Baker was hoping to turn his prior playoff record around.
That would not take place in 2010 though as the Reds would be swept in just three games by the Phillies. It was enough to earn Baker a 2-year contract extension though, and he had the Reds back in the playoffs in both 2012 and 2013. Unfortunately, Baker would continue to fail to get his team to the World Series as they would lose in five games to his former club, the San Francisco Giants, in 2012, and lose in the Wildcard game in 2013 to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The lack of playoff success would be Baker’s downfall in Cincinnati and he would be fired following the 2013 season.
Dusty would have the next two years off as he continued to look for another job, but he came up short at every turn. Finally, in 2015 Baker was named the manager of the Washington Nationals. Baker would manage the Nationals for only two seasons, even though the club won their division both years. Well why would that be the case? You guessed it! Lack of playoff success had derailed Baker once again. In 2016 the Nationals would lose their first series in five games to the Dodgers, and in 2017 lose to Baker’s other former club, the Chicago Cubs, in 5 games. The entire Nationals staff was let go by the organization following the 2017 season. They would go on to win the World Series in 2019 under Dave Martinez.
Space City (Houston Astros Manager)
The Houston Astros, just coming off a loss in the World Series to the Nationals, had a big problem on their hands. Following the 2019 season, the infamous sign-stealing scandal from 2017 had come to a head. The Astros manager, A.J. Hinch, was being suspended by the league for his part in the alleged sign-stealing. He was subsequently fired by the club, and now a roster that was just coming off a World Series birth was without a manager.
Dusty was just the guy for the job. He was signed to a 1-year deal by the Astros in 2020 with a club option for a second year. The Astros would go 29-31 during the shortened COVID season in 2020, but it was enough for the Astros to give Baker another chance. The Astros would not have another losing season under Baker. In 2021 Baker led the club to a 95-67 record and won the division. Dusty was in the playoffs once again, but would his past failures catch up with him? Not this time as the Astros would defeat the Chicago White Sox 3-1 in the Divisional Series, and the Boston Red Sox 4-2 in the AL Championship. The Astros had won the AL Pennant, and Baker was back at the Fall Classic.
Unfortunately, the Braves were loaded that year and defeated Baker and the Astros in 6 games. The Astros came back with a vengeance in 2022 though, as the club rolled off a resounding 106-56 record and won the division once again. The Astros were a buzzsaw that could not be stopped as they would sweep both the Seattle Mariners, and the New York Yankees on the way to the World Series. This time it was a faceoff against the Philadelphia Phillies. Dusty and the loaded Astros roster led by Cy Young Award winner, Justin Verlander, looked to finish the job this time. After being down 2-1 in the series, the Astros would roll off three straight wins to achieve their first World Series title since 2017, and Dusty Baker’s first World Series as a manager.
Dusty Baker would announce his retirement just 2 days after the AL Championship Series in 2023. The Astros had just fallen to their division rivals, the Texas Rangers, in a battle between legendary MLB managers, Dusty Baker and Bruce Bochy. Baker’s career in the MLB spanned a total of 45 years as a player and a manager. During that time Baker was awarded Manager of the Year 3 times, 2 All-Star appearances, a Gold Glove, 2 Silver Slugger Awards, and 2 World Series Championships, 1 as a player and 1 as a manager.
As a manager Dusty finished with an overall record of 2183-1862 which places him 7th all time currently on the MLB manager wins list. Dusty would return to the San Francisco Giants in 2024 as a Special Advisor to Baseball Operations where he remains today. While his career was filled with ups and downs, there is no denying the greatness, and longevity, of such an incredible career. Baker will forever be remembered for both the way he played and coached the game of baseball.