Veteran Major League Baseball manager Dusty Baker of Riverside, California announced his retirement from managing at the age of 74 on Wednesday according to ESPN. Baker has been managing in the Major Leagues since 1993. He was with the San Francisco Giants from 1993 to 2002, the Chicago Cubs from 2003 to 2006, the Cincinnati Reds from 2008 to 2013, the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2017, and with the Houston Astros from 2020 to 2023.
The Tie
In that time, Baker managed 4046 regular season games, and had a record of 2183 wins, and 1862 losses and one tie with a winning percentage of .540. The lone tie happened on August 15, 2002. Baker was managing the Giants at the time, and San Francisco tied Atlanta 3-3. The game was stopped after 10 innings due to heavy rain.
World Series Champion
Baker won one World Series as a manager. That came in 2022 as the Houston Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in six games. At age 73, he became the oldest manager to win the World Series.
The Toothpick
Baker was always known for having a toothpick in his mouth while managing. According to Edward Sutelan of The Sporting News, Baker’s father always had a toothpick in case someone had something stuck in his teeth. The second reason was it stopped him from chewing tobacco.
Dusty Baker’s son Darren
During game five of the 2002 World Series between the San Francisco Giants and Anaheim Angels, Dusty Baker’s three and a half year old son Darren ran on to the field to pick up Kenny Lofton’s bat. The problem was it was during a play. Lofton had hit a triple and scored J.T. Snow from second base. When Snow came home, he picked up Darren and rushed him away from the action. Luckily, Darren did not get hurt. Dusty Baker’s mother had warned Dusty that Darren was too young to be in the dugout. After the game, Dusty received a phone call from his mother to listen to her from now on and to thank Snow for his quick actions.
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