Dusty Baker wants to enjoy the season first even if he plans to retire. “I simply expressed my love for the guys.
As the Astros outfielder Chas McCormick put it, “do or die,” Kyle Tucker hit a ground ball that ended up in the Rangers first baseman’s glove, capping a blowout Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
The 2023 season for the Astros was not without its setbacks. It concluded on Monday with the team’s fifth straight loss in a ballpark that declined to welcome its home team, turning Minute Maid Park from a hub for October
The Astros players and coaches exchanged sombre hugs and dejected smiles inside the clubhouse. One by one, the pats on the back turned into a sorrowful, rhythmic soundtrack.
A white No. 12 Astros jersey was meticulously folded by catcher Martín Maldonado and tucked away in his rucksack. “Baker Jr.” is emblazoned on the back of the jersey.
After experiencing a rebirth in Houston, Dusty Baker’s career is currently at another turning point. Baker’s attempt at a repeat was thwarted one year after he won his first World Series as an Astros manager. He has yet to manage a Game 7 triumph and may never do so. This offseason marks Baker’s one-year contract expiration with the Astros.
Despite a report from The Athletic on Monday night suggesting that Baker planned to retire after the 2023 season, and a team source confirming this to the Chronicle, the 74-year-old refused to talk about it after the game.
his prospects. He did, however, seem to be considering a life without baseball in which he could spend more time with his family.
Baker remarked, “I just told the guys how much I loved them and how much I appreciate their effort and how professional they are in everything they do.” “Because I’m not that kind of guy, I’m down the list, therefore I haven’t had time to assess or consider my future. I don’t want to take away from these men in any way, including the attention. You must relish what we accomplished. You need to consider how we can improve. I’ll then assess my life and circumstances.
After playing for the Astros for the last four and a half seasons, Maldonado, who will become a free agent this winter, claimed Baker endeared himself to the team since his debut in 2020.
People adore him, according to Maldonado. “He is a man who is going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and who gave everything for the players and the city.” You claim that his future is unknown, yet as far as we are as a group or as individuals, there is really nothing we can do. We don’t make that call.
Jim Crane, the owner of the Astros, will decide if Baker returns if he so chooses. Baker was given a one-year deal to manage the team in each yearthe last three seasons.
Baker has managed 26 seasons as a manager, which has required him to be fairly flexible, even though, like most baseball players, he appreciates regularity and stability. Baker’s pregame routine on Monday was the same as it always been, even if his team was in danger of losing. After stopping by one of his favourite coffee shops, he picked up some pastries to take to the ballgame. After reading a few novels, he took a shower, put on some clothes, and left for what might be his last game ever.
While some of his longevity in the game can be attributed to his tenacity, the Astros were undoubtedly hampered by it at times. He didn’t pinch-hit for Maldonado in Game 7 and instead let the Astros pitch to Rangers home run machine Adolis García.
“There’s a whole bunch of stuff you can point to in that ballgame when you get beat 11-4,” he said. We were thus simply defeated. There are moments when logic and reason fail. You get beat occasionally and you lose other times. There is a distinction. We were defeated.Baker is not the only one who bears responsibility. The Astros got into the bad habit of marooning runners who were on base. Jeremy Peña, the ALCS and World Series MVP from the previous year, struggled offensively and was only used as a pinch-hitter twice in the series against the Rangers. Despite leading Houston in RBI during the regular season, Tucker only managed one RBI in the postseason.
This playoffs, no pitcher other than Justin Verlander gave the Astros a strong start. The
icy-hearted Cristian After giving up three runs and getting just one out in his Game 7 debut, Javier appeared spooked and slithered back to the dugout. The pitchers who were asked to relieve him did the exact opposite.
Peña stated, “At this point, it is what it is.” “We had a difficult series. We enjoy performing for our fans. We enjoy hosting games at our stadium. We simply wish we could have shown up. .. How do I put it? We were defeated. We lost and didn’t come throug
Baker’s fourth season with the Astros came to an end Monday at the hands of another 26th-year manager who returned to the job after a hiatus. Bruce Bochy has never lost a winner-take-all game in his managerial career, and his latest triumph, which raised that mark to 6-0, awarded the Rangers the franchise’s first World Series berth since 2011.
“Bruce Bochy is one of my best friends as a manager, and I wish him well,” Baker said.
Despite Baker’s reluctance to specify his future desires, the Astros spoke about him with a knowing reverence usually reserved for someone whose departure is imminent.
“Dusty Baker is a legend in the sport,” Peña said. “I’ve loved every single day that I’ve gotten to share with him on this ballclub.”
Astros utility player Mauricio Dubón flourished this season while filling in for injured second baseman Jose Altuve in the first two months. Once discounted for his defense while playing for San Francisco, Dubón finished his second year in Houston nominated for two AL Gold Glove awards. He credited Baker with having confidence in him even after Altuve returned to the lineup.
“He gave me the chance to be Mauricio,” Dubón said. “Dusty gave me the chance to go out there and perform, and we don’t know what’s gonna happen, but I’m going to be forever grateful for him in my career.”
Astros reliever Ryne Stanek described Baker as “somebody larger than life,” the owner of an outsized reputation that dovetailed with his down-to-earth personality.
“It’s a weird thing to have your manager be, like, the most famous dude on your team,” Stanek said. “That’s such a strange thing. Because everybody knows that he’s been around for so long. And the career in and of itself is what it is. But him as a person and a persona is so different. I’ve obviously never played for somebody with that kind of personality. It’s different. Things that I’m going to remember is, every so often, he brings me a bag of damn walnuts because he’s got a friend that grows walnuts back home. And they’re great. But it’s just random things like that where you’re like, it’s Dusty Baker bringing fricking walnuts. It’s just surreal, kind of little things that you don’t think about. Because that’s just him.”
Baker keeps a stockpile of orange long-sleeved shirts handy near his office in the Astros’ clubhouse. They bear his last name and No. 12 in small print on the front, over the heart, and various images of Baker throughout his career in a photo collage on the back.
Astros pitching coach Bill Murphy wore one of the shirts postgame in the clubhouse and got choked up when asked to describe working with Baker.
“To treat someone like me who didn’t play in the big leagues, hadn’t played in the minor leagues, with so much
respect — it means so much,” Murphy said. “That’s because he’s a great person.”
An hour and a half after the game ended, most of the Astros had left the clubhouse. The families of Rangers players still lingered on the field at Minute Maid Park, soaking in achieving a milestone at a venue that has held many for the Astros.
In Baker’s four seasons as manager, the Astros have made it to two World Series and four AL championship series. That legacy will remain whether or not Baker does.
“We have been spoiled around here as far as winning and winning and winning,” Baker said. “We have nothing to be ashamed of or nothing to hold our head down about. We’re down, but we’re not out. And every team in baseball would trade to have had the last four years that we’ve had. h as we had hoped.
