By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
Dusty Baker has announced his retirement. He had hinted at this on Wednesday when the USA Today Sports broke the news.
Baker had been the manager of the Houston Astros. He was their manager since the 2020 season.
He announced his retirement on Thursday at a press conference.
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“I would first like to say thank you to [Astros owner] Jim Crane and family for giving me this opportunity over the last four years,” Baker said Thursday. “It has been a tremendous honor to be the leader of this ballclub. Thank you to the fans for their unwavering passion. The amount of love I’ve received in my time in Houston has been unmatched.
“Thank you to all my players and coaches for their many sacrifices on our multiple pursuits to a World Series title. You all gave me all you had every day, and that’s all I can ever ask for. Lastly, I want to say thank you to all my friends and family. I have immense gratitude for all of the love and support you have shown me throughout the years, and I can’t say thank you enough. This isn’t a goodbye, it’s simply a ‘see you later.'”
Baker does not necessarily want to leave the game altogether. He would like to be employed either by the Astros or another team in an advisory role.
The Astros have yet to say whether he will be staying put.
“When we hired Dusty four seasons ago, we felt that he was the right person to guide this club during a tumultuous time — and we were right,” Crane said. “The success we’ve had under Dusty on the field is obvious, and the impact that he has had on our players, our organization and within our community has been tremendous. Dusty is a Hall of Famer as a manager, but more importantly, he is a Hall of Fame person. It has been an honor to have him as our manager.”
Baker may be a Hall of Fame manager. According to ESPN’s Stats & Information, Baker is near several managers, who is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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Connie Mack is the all-time leader with 3,731 wins. Tony La Russa, who began the season as the Chicago White Sox manager before stepping down, has 2,884 wins.
John McGraw has 2,763 wins. Bobby Cox has 2,504 wins, while Joe Torre has 2,326 wins. Sparky Anderson also has 2,194 wins. All of these managers are in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Will Baker be next?
“I was kind of mad at the world when I got through playing,” Baker said. “Like a lot of African-Americans and Latin players, there aren’t jobs, really. I was going to go home. And then my dad told me, ‘After all the people you’ve met, it’s not up to you to take with you and possess what they gave you. It’s up to you to pass it on to somebody else.’ That’s what I’ve tried to do.”
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