After an illustrious career, the Houston Astros’ Dusty Baker announced his retirement from managing at a Thursday news conference. Here’s what you need to know:
- Baker said he started thinking about retirement last winter and then “there were a couple instances, a couple articles” that made up his mind in the summer.
- The 74-year-old added that although he’s retiring from the field in Houston, he hasn’t made up his mind about what comes next in his life.
- Baker retires with a 26-year managerial record of 2,183 wins and 1,862 losses with three pennants and a championship title.
- Only Connie Mack, Tony La Russa, John McGraw, Bobby Cox, Joe Torre and Sparky Anderson have won more games as a manager.
What’s Baker’s legacy in Houston?
Baker brought respectability to a franchise in desperate need of it. He shepherded the Astros through the sign-stealing scandal’s fallout and restored stability at a time when few others could. Baker’s .586 winning percentage trails only A.J. Hinch — the man he replaced — for the highest of any manager in team history.
Baker led the team to four consecutive American League Championship Series appearances and appeared in two World Series. — Chandler Rome, Astros staff writer
Backstory
Baker first joined MLB as a 19-year-old with the Atlanta Braves in 1968. He retired as a player 19 years later as a two-time All-Star, a two-time Silver Slugger and with a championship ring from the 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers.
In 1988, Baker joined the coaching ranks as a first base coach with the San Francisco Giants before managing the team from 1993 to 2002, guiding them to a World Series appearance. He went on to spend four seasons with the Chicago Cubs, six seasons with the Cincinnati Reds and two seasons with the Washington Nationals before managing Houston for the last four years.
Baker led each team he managed to at least one playoff appearance and added a second World Series ring to his collection with the Astros in 2022.
He retires with a 26-year managerial record of 2,183 wins and 1,862 losses, with three pennants and a championship. Only Connie Mack, Tony La Russa, John McGraw, Bobby Cox, Joe Torre and Sparky Anderson won more games as a manager.
Required reading
(Photo: Daniel Shirey / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
