Baker met future MLB home run king Hank Aaron, who told him that if he believed in himself, he would be in the big leagues before his college class graduates. Despite his concerns about moving to the south and pressure from his father to take a college basketball scholarship instead, Baker signed with the Braves and began his professional baseball career.
Baker made just 98 at bats between and before becoming a regular for the team in That first year as a regular, Baker broke out in a major way. He finished the season with a. He was the team's primary center fielder his first few seasons in Atlanta before steadily transitioning over to right field in and playing right almost exclusively in , his final season in Atlanta.
During , he got a front-row seat to history. On April 8, he was waiting in the on-deck circle, when Aaron hit a deep fly to left field that sailed over the fence for home run No. Did you know that Dusty Baker was on deck when Hank Aaron hit his th home run?
He departed the Giants second in wins and games managed behind John McGraw. God bless him. Baker made a major impact with the Cubs in his first season as manager. The series included the infamous Steve Bartman Incident in Game 6, when the Cubs were up and five outs from their first World Series appearance in almost 60 years. In the Cubs lost a number of their key players to injuries and saw its fortunes reversed as they finished with a losing record.
I guess that all things must come to an end. Baker joined the managerial ranks again in October when the Cincinnati Reds hired him as their manager. I want to reciprocate that need and that want to the organization and the city of Cincinnati. But he began to turn things around in and the Reds were one of the big surprises that year, winning the NL Central title and making their first playoff appearance in 15 years. The Reds rewarded Baker with a two-year contract extension at the end of the season.
After the Reds struggled in , Baker led the team to a record in Near the end of the season, Baker had to be hospitalized for an irregular heartbeat. The Reds clinched the division title in his absence. Baker signed another two-year contract extension as manager of the Reds after the season. The Washington Nationals hired Baker on November 3, At the time of his hiring, he had the second-highest total of wins among active managers. Baker returned to the Giants organization as a Special Advisor to the Giants CEO, Laurence Baer, in where he would help the team both on the field as well as on the business end.
Baker returned to the dugout on January 29, when the Astros announced him as their new manager. He signed a one-year contract with a club option for a second year. It was the first time that Baker would manage in the American League.
The team had just been caught in a cheating scandal 31 and Astros owner Jim Crane said that Baker was needed to help the team move forward. The Astros, with a record, clinched a playoff spot as the sixth seed in a COVID-shortened season, making Baker the first baseball manager to lead five teams to the postseason. His record after 23 seasons as a big league manager is 1,, the 15th most wins all-time.
Many wondered if Baker might have been hired as a one-year stop gap to distance the club from their previous management. He first worked during the MLB Postseason and returned for the postseason. Baker joined TBS as a studio analyst for the final two weeks of their regular season coverage in as well as for their coverage of the National League playoffs that year.
Baker also owns Baker Family Wines. The winery was started in along with co-owner and winemaker Chik Brenneman. The small winery produces approximately cases of wine a year, and sources fruit from around the Sierra Foothills and Northern California.
He is presently married to Melissa. They have been married since They have one son, Darren, who was born in After graduating high school, Darren was drafted by the Nationals in the 27th round of the June amateur draft. But he chose to attend the University of California on a baseball scholarship. As Baker nears 50 years in baseball, he still works to bring the many lessons that he has learned in life and in the sport to his players.
Baker will be remembered as one of the most successful managers in baseball history. It remains to be seen whether he will be able to win a World Series championship, perhaps the one prize that has eluded him over his managerial career.
I think the Lord gave me the best chance to accomplish what I need as a person, as a father, and as a man [by managing the Astros]. In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author used Baseball-Reference.
The incident happened in the eighth inning of Game Six of the National League Championship Series, with Chicago leading and up three games to two lead in the best-of-seven series. Florida Marlins batter Luis Castillo hit a fly ball into foul territory in left field.
If Alou had caught the ball, it would have been the second out in the inning, and the Cubs would have been just four outs away from winning their first National League pennant since The Cubs eventually surrendered eight runs in the inning and lost the game The Cubs were eliminated in the seventh game the next day. Both were fired shortly afterward by the team.
He was also suspended for a year and eventually fired by the Red Sox. Support SABR today! Central Ave. All Rights Reserved.
Sources In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author used Baseball-Reference. Full Name Johnnie B. Celtic Rangers. Toggle navigation Subscribe. Claire Smith Oct 7, He speaks fondly of that time long gone by, when a starstruck year-old September call-up improbably teamed up with a year-old figure of mythic proportions, on the Atlanta Braves.
Johnnie B. His parents taught him as much when raising their son in the multicultural melting pot that was California. The part-time pitcher, front-office adviser to then-Braves president Bill Bartholomay and an assistant trainer, was on the roster at his request.
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