Dusty Baker
Dusty Baker
Johnnie B. "Dusty" Baker, Jr.is an American Major League Baseball manager and former player. He is currently the manager for the Washington Nationals. He enjoyed a 19-year career as a hard-hitting outfielder, primarily with the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers. He helped the Dodgers to pennants in 1977 and 1978 and to the championship in 1981. He then enjoyed a 20-year career as a manager with the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and now Washington Nationals. He...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth15 June 1949
CityRiverside, CA
CountryUnited States of America
You get a good setup man and sooner or later someone is going to want him as a closer. You got a good middle guy and you or somebody is going want him to be a setup man. You see bullpen guys move in this game more than any other players.
You'd think he's left-handed when you watch him throw. He's one of the best athletes I've been around. People are surprised when they see him run. This guy can fly.
You'd rather have too many than too few.
Todd did a good job playing first base in Spring Training. He likes playing first base. He'll play first most of the time and second base some of the time.
We had a hard time holding up our end of the bargain.
We've had a total letdown in that area. It bothers the heck out of me, it bothers my coaches, and it bothers the players when it happens to them.
We are very impressed. That's not the issue here. The issue is for him to play and to prosper. And to get better at some of the fundamentals of the game. The only way to get that is to play.
We are still leaning probably toward 11 pitchers. Anything can happen these last couple days. But you don't want to tell somebody something and then say, 'Oh, so-and-so got hurt, and you're back on the team.
We didn't know when he was going to be back in the first place. This is just a bump in the road.
We didn't just give him the job. He earned it.
We didn't help ourselves. We had some chances. It's very aggravating to leave those runners out there. That was the ballgame.
We didn't help ourselves. We had some chances, ... It's very aggravating to leave those runners out there. That was the ballgame.
We had Roger in trouble a couple of times, but we managed only one run. Roger knows how to pitch, and he knows how to win.
We wanted him to get that victory, but we needed it badly. He didn't get it, but he gave it to us.