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Dusty Baker was one cool dude, and a Hall of Fame manager
Watching the Houston Astros lose in the 2023 American League Championship Series was bittersweet for me.
I am not an Astros fan — I can’t get over their 2017 cheating scandal — so I was happy to see them lose to the eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers.
But I have always loved Astros manager Dusty Baker, who announced his retirement after the postseason to an outpouring of tributes from players, fans, media and baseball executives.
Baker spent 19 seasons playing in the big leagues and 26 as the manager of the Giants, Cubs, Reds, Nationals and Astros. For me, it was sad to see the 74-year-old manager walk away from the game he loves and to which he has given so much of his life.
I became a Dusty Baker fan as a kid, shortly after he made his 1968 MLB debut with my beloved Atlanta Braves.
Johnny B. Baker became a full-time starter in 1972 and quickly became a fan favorite because of his cool nickname and the grace and athleticism with which he played centerfield.
He had his best season in Atlanta in 1973. Batting behind eventual Home Run King Hank Aaron, the 24-year-old Baker batted .288 with 21 home runs, 99 RBI and 24 stolen bases.
I attended my first major league game in Atlanta’s Fulton County Stadium that season and Baker was the star.
The Braves lost to the Cincinnati Reds 14-6, but there were five home runs hit that day. Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, Ken Griffey Sr. and George Foster went deep for the Reds. Baker and first baseman Mike Lum homered for the Braves.
Though the Braves finished fifth in the NL West that season, the game demonstrated the star power in the middle of their lineup. Aaron, batting fourth, went 3-5 with a double. Baker, batting fifth, also went 3-5 with a home run and two RBI. Third baseman Darrell Evans, batting third, was 4-5.
Baker had two more solid seasons for the Braves before he was traded to the Dodgers for Jim Wynn, Tom Paciorek, Lee Lacy and Jerry Royster. The Dodgers clearly got the better of that deal.
After struggling through an injury-plagued 1976 season, Baker hit a career-high 30 homers for the Dodgers in 1977. Three years later, he had the best season of his career, batting .294 with 29 home runs and 97 RBI to finish fourth in NL MVP voting. A year later, he hit a career-high .320 and then made the NL All-Star team in both 1981 and ’82.
I was sad when Baker was traded to L.A., but I became a pseudo-Dodgers fan because the Braves stunk, the Dodgers were good and one of my favorite players now teamed with the best infield in baseball (Garvey, Lopes, Russell and Cey).
I was heartbroken when the Dodgers lost the 1977 and ’78 World Series to the hated Yankees, but thrilled when they took down the pinstriped Yanks in 1981.
I had a few Dusty baseball cards as a kid and coveted them almost as much as my 1973 and ’74 Hank Aaron cards.
Baker’s 1971 Topps rookie card is a gem. He shares the Rookie Stars Outfielders card, ironically, with Paciorek and Don Baylor. It has sold for as much as $5,100 in a PSA 9 grade.
As I’ve noted before, the 1973 Topps set is my favorite for sentimental reasons, but the image on Baker’s ’73 card is blurry and out of focus. I prefer his ’74 and ’75 Topps cards, which feature him in his classic batting pose and shows off his ultra-cool, red-white-and-blue wrist bands, which matched the Braves color scheme at the time.
Years later, as a manager, Baker still wore wristbands and sometimes batting gloves, making it look like he could still step into the batter’s box and take a mighty swing. And the trademark toothpick sticking out of the side of his mouth gave him the calm, cool and collected look of a wise old manager who was always one step ahead of the competition, which he usually was.
Baker retired with a .540 winning percentage as a manager and cemented his Hall of Fame status when he won three straight AL pennants and the 2022 World Series with the Astros.
But what I will remember most is his cool nickname, those sweet sweatbands, his smooth, powerful swing, and the grace and class with which he played and managed the game.
— Jeff Owens is the editor of SCD. You can reach him at jowens@aimmedia.com.
Jeff Owens is the editor of SCD.
