59 Facts About Dusty Baker

Dusty Baker previously played in MLB for 19 seasons, most notably with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Dusty Baker made three World Series appearances, winning one in 1981.

Dusty Baker has served as the manager of the Astros since 2020.

Dusty Baker is the first MLB manager to reach the playoffs and win a division title with five different teams, having accomplished both feats with each team he managed.

Dusty Baker led the Giants to the 2002 World Series and the Astros to the 2021 World Series, making him the ninth manager to win pennants in both the American and National Leagues.

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Dusty Baker has the most wins among managers who have not won the World Series.

Dusty Baker grew up in Riverside, California as the oldest of five children.

Dusty Baker earned the nickname "Dusty" from his mother because of his propensity for playing in a dirt spot in the backyard.

Dusty Baker's father worked as an Air Force sheet-metal technician at Norton Air Force Base.

In 1963, when Dusty was 14 years old, the Baker family moved to the Sacramento area near McClellan Air Force Base.

Dusty Baker grew up as a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers and described Tommy Davis as his hero, but the signing of Bobby Bonds in 1968 made him a fan of the San Francisco Giants.

Dusty Baker excelled in baseball, basketball, football, and track in Del Campo High School near Sacramento, California, and he was inducted into the Sac-Joaquin Section's Hall of Fame class in 2010 for his play at Del Campo.

Dusty Baker's father was so committed to his son going to college that he went around and told scouts that his son would go to college and play either football or basketball, as opposed to them wasting a draft pick on Baker.

Dusty Baker was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 1967 amateur draft, despite his prayers to not play in the Deep South.

Dusty Baker decided to sign with the team to the anger of his father, who sued to nullify the contract, which led to a decision where the State of California appointed a trustee over his finances until his 21st birthday.

Dusty Baker did not speak to his father for three years nor reconcile for a few years after that; seeing how his finances were invested softened Dusty Baker's perception of his father along with inspiring him to become a stockbroker for a time later in life.

Dusty Baker then played in the Western Carolinas League and the Florida State League before playing six games in the majors the following year.

Dusty Baker went 0-for-1, and he appeared in five other games that year and collected two hits.

Dusty Baker played in the minors for most of the next three seasons, playing just 45 games for the major league Braves during that time while batting over.

Finally, Dusty Baker made the roster for Opening Day in 1972 to get a true start to his major league career.

Dusty Baker played two further seasons with the Braves, batting over.

Dusty Baker finished fourth in MVP voting while winning the Silver Slugger Award.

Dusty Baker was awarded the Silver Slugger Award and the Gold Glove Award while finishing seventh in MVP voting.

Dusty Baker became a free agent after the season and signed with the San Francisco Giants for the 1984 season.

Dusty Baker is noted for his love of toothpicks, saying, "Toothpicks are an excellent source of protein" while chewing at least one every game.

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Dusty Baker uses the toothpick as a way to deter use of chewing tobacco, which he used as a player.

However, while checking into the hotel, Dusty Baker encountered Bob Lurie, owner of the Giants, which seemed a sign for Dusty Baker to take an opportunity, if offered.

When Dusty Baker eventually met with Rosen, Rosen stated interest in having him serve as a first base coach, which differed from Dusty Baker stating interest in possibly being an assistant general manager because Rosen thought he would be better suited to manage on the field.

Dusty Baker set out a goal to try and manage within five years or he would step down.

Dusty Baker's coaching career started as a first base coach for the Giants in 1988, and then he spent the following four years as the hitting coach.

Dusty Baker beat out four other candidates in John Wathan, Davey Lopes, Tom Trebelhorn, and Ron Gardenhire.

Dusty Baker was the first manager since Sparky Anderson to win 100 games as a rookie manager, and the fourth to do so.

Dusty Baker's Giants went on to win division titles in 1997, and again in 2000; Baker won Manager of the Year honors in both of those years as well.

Dusty Baker was the second person to win the award three times after Tony La Russa, and the first to do so with the same team all three times.

Dusty Baker finished his tenure with a record of 840 wins and 715 losses in the regular season and 11 wins and 13 losses in the post-season.

Dusty Baker was the second, and Ron Washington and Dave Roberts have since joined Gaston and Dusty Baker by managing the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers, respectively, to the World Series, with Roberts winning a championship in 2020.

Dusty Baker would make a major impact in his first season as manager for the Cubs in 2003.

Dusty Baker led the Cubs to victory over the Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series, the first postseason series victory for the team since the 1908 World Series.

Dusty Baker received criticism from television analyst Steve Stone, who blamed Baker for his players harassing him at team charters and hotels, which Baker waved off as being "grown men".

However, the only season where Wood was used for a full season under Dusty Baker's tenure was in 2003, in which he pitched 211 innings, which was two innings more than he had pitched in 2002.

Dusty Baker finished his tenure with a regular-season record of 322 wins and 326 losses and a postseason record of six wins and six losses.

At the time, Dusty Baker had been dealing with a longstanding heart problem.

Dusty Baker finished his tenure with a regular season record of 509 wins and 463 losses and a post-season record of two wins and seven losses; he was the first full-time Reds manager to finish with a winning record since Jack McKeon and he is currently the last Reds manager to have a winning record as of 2022.

The fifth game was the tenth time in fourteen years where a Dusty Baker-managed team had lost a "close-out" games with the opportunity to advance to the next round of the playoffs, which was a record; in both NLDS matchups, the Nationals had outscored their opponent but lost the series.

In 2020, Dusty Baker was one of three finalists for the Philadelphia Phillies job .

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Dusty Baker became the first baseball manager to lead five teams to the postseason.

Dusty Baker became the first manager to lead a team that finished under.

The White Sox were led by Tony La Russa, who Dusty Baker had faced as manager over 200 times previously, and whose careers both had intertwined and spanned more than five decades.

The nineteen-year gap between World Series appearances in the second longest all-time between managers, and Dusty Baker became the ninth manager in major league history to win a pennant in both leagues.

Dusty Baker became the twelfth manager and first African-American manager to reach the milestone.

Dusty Baker was named manager of the American League in the MLB All-Star Game played at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Dusty Baker served as an ESPN analyst during the 2006 MLB postseason and served in a similar role during the 2007 season.

In 2015, Dusty Baker joined TBS as a studio analyst for the final two weeks of their regular season coverage and for their coverage of the National League playoffs.

Dusty Baker was a member of the United States Marine Corps Reserve from 1969 through 1975.

Dusty Baker decided to play as infielder for the California Golden Bears, and in 2021 he was drafted by the Nationals in the tenth round of the amateur draft, where this time he signed to join the organization.

Dusty Baker is a member of the National Advisory Board for Positive Coaching Alliance, a national non-profit organization committed to providing student-athletes with a positive, character-building youth sports experience.

Dusty Baker has appeared in several videos and webinars for this organization, all of which can be found on the group's YouTube channel.

Dusty Baker was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

Dusty Baker returned to the Giants organization in 2018 as a Special Advisor to the CEO.