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 don't want to do all this hard work all through Spring Training and during the season and then come out here with nothing to be proud of.
It's a big game. It's a very important game for us.
His velocity appears to be up, his location was good. I'm sure he's not happy about not covering first base. He's been working on it, and we've been making him very conscious of it, but the way he falls off, I don't know, it just looks like he has a lapse or something. Other than that, he threw the ball good.
He's as hard-working a guy as I've ever seen. He wants to do very, very good. Seems that no matter what he does, he still has the hunger and enthusiasm of a rookie. With that nature, that'll take him to great heights. I haven't been around him that long, but he appears to be a guy who's never satisfied with where he is.
If he's in long relief, that's just like starting. If he's in long relief, we have a pretty good idea as far as time to get loose and get ready. It's not like I have to hurry up and get him ready for one batter.
I've been perceived in more false ways since I've been in Chicago. Perception doesn't bother me.
I've been going through this for a long time, either chasing somebody or being chased. This is the most fun part of the year. You derive energy from it. When you're in the race and have something to play for, you have some energy. I enjoy it a lot. This is what I manage for.
I'd like to get it done, most definitely. I'm sure he'd like to get it done. We'd like to keep him here, and he'd like to stay here. They're not called negotiations because people agree right off the bat. Sometimes these things take a little time.
I like his approach. Anybody who can hit the ball up the middle and to the opposite field is going to hit. He'll learn how to hit with power. If he can hit balls to right field, he has power.
It says a lot for experience. He's not doing any more than what his Hall of Fame career has indicated.
The things I want to see out of him is baseball experience and work on fundamental instinctive stuff -- running the bases, hitting the cutoff man, knowing when to run. I've heard that when he gets thrown out, he stops running. When you get thrown out, you need to be more daring.
You don't want him to get hit on the wrist or elbow.
A lot of these guys come from other organizations where certain things are stressed differently,
I'm sure something will work out for him. I certainly don't think he's through. Injuries have hurt him the last couple of years. I'm hoping he gets a job.