AFTER BASEBALL
dumped Dusty
Baker, Dusty Baker
dumped baseball.
The Nationals let
him go in 2017 after
two straight playoff
appearances, and
he wondered what
more he could have
done. Despite win-
ning 1,863 games
over 22 seasons
in San Francisco,
Chicago, Cincinnati
and D.C., the most
wins ever for a black
manager, Baker was
getting no traction
for openings across
the league. Teams
instead opted foryoung ex-players
(Aaron Boone in
New York and
Gabe Kapler in
Philadelphia in
’17, Rocco Baldelli
in Minnesota and
Chris Woodward in
Texas in ’18) without
experience. But
he knew the game
hadn’t passed him
by. Didn’t he still
connect with his
players, even as
_\hlXc`Ó\[]fi
Social Security?
No, the industry
seemed to be
saying. Baker was
too old-school. So
he gave away hiscleats and bats and
gloves. He threw out
his game socks and
underwear. He spent
time with his family.
He opened a winery
and tasting room
for his business,
Baker Family Wines,
in West Sacramento.
He founded a
company, Baker
Energy Team, that
develops renewable
energy plans for
businesses. (“If
nobody wanted me
on their team, I’ll
start my own,” he
says.) He began to
make peace with
the idea that he
was retired.
Then MLB found
that the Astros had
cheated in ’17. Team
owner Jim Crane
Ói\[dXeX^\i8%A%
Hinch along with
GM Jeff Luhnow.
The Astros
had been on the
forefront of the
analytics revolution
in baseball.
Suddenly they
were searching for
a new identity, so
Crane called Baker.The new school
had imperiled the
game. Would the old
school please come
back and save it?
Yes, Baker said.
Houston’s choice
made sense: Baker’s
presence suggests
that an adult is in
the room. Crane
has already called
upon this cachet—
fek_\Óijk[Xpf]
spring training, as
the owner held an
apologetic press
conference, his
new GM, James
Click, Baker’s boss,
watched from inside
the facility. Baker
sat beside Crane.
Baker’s reasons
for taking the job
have less to do with
the present. He is
very aware of his
legacy. He knows he
needs 137 wins for
2,000, a milestone
just 11 managers
have reached. He
knows a title, his
Óijk#nflc[dXb\
him the second
black manager to
hold the trophy.
He also intends toshow that he has
been the right guy
all along.
Is he into new
concepts such
as spin rate and
launch angle?
“I’m into the
high fastball and
the curveball,”
he says. “That’s
spin rate. I’m into
Ted Williams. He
always spoke about
a slight upswing.
What’s that? That’s
not more than
launch angle.”
And so a new
chapter for the
Astros begins, with
Dusty Baker in
his old spot in the
dugout, wearing
new underwear.
—Stephanie Apstein8
9
Because...
THE PITCHER-
HITTER DUEL IS
INTENSE AS EVERHitting today
is hard. And it
hurts. Batters
last year were
hit 1,984 times,
.82 per game,
the highest
average since- Pitchers
are sacrificing
command
in pursuit of
velocity, seeking
to induce not
weak contact
but no
contact. —T.V.
DUSTIN BRADFORD/GETTY IMAGES (GRAY); BEN VAN HOOK (BAKER)
BE C A USE...THE CHEATING
SCANDAL GAVE
A LIFER ONE
MORE SHOT