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
fortunate guy main majority playing quality quite situation talk three
The main guy will get the majority of the playing time. Is that 60 percent? Is that 70 percent? Is that 51 percent? I'll talk to them. Quite frankly, that's a fortunate situation to have three quality guys. It's not a problem; it's a fortunate situation.
ballpark guy helmet hit seen
They say come to the ballpark and you'll see something you haven't seen before. I haven't seen that before, you hit a guy in the helmet on the double-play ball.
ballpark base guy helmet hit run seen
They say you come to the ballpark and you'll see something you haven't seen, and I haven't seen that before when you hit the guy on the helmet with a double-play ball. They get a run out of that and another run on the two-out base hit.
gravitate guys towards
Guys gravitate towards him. You need those kind of guys. There's a lot he can still do.
courses guys open relaxation stuff took trouble venezuela
I'm open-minded with stuff like that, actually, because I was probably one of the first guys who took some relaxation courses in Venezuela in 1974. I even got hypnotized in '78. I was having trouble concentrating. . . . So, no, I'm very open to a lot of stuff.
aaron against almost career certain great guys hank learn player playing point trust until younger
You're playing against guys who are younger than you, so you can set them up. You get to a certain point in your career and you almost know what's coming. You learn to trust your feelings. Hank Aaron told me you don't become a great player until you learn to trust your feelings.
busting guys
Our guys are busting it every day. We're not getting it done.
dip drop feet goes guy hands head knowing might narrow pitcher plate slightly stealing
Stealing isn't just speed. Most of it is knowing the pitcher and knowing what a guy does. He might dip his head before he goes to the plate or he might drop his hands slightly before he goes to the plate or his feet are narrow when he goes to first or he might slide-step.
channel fire guy instead light pilot raging rather
He'll get it; he'll learn. But I'd rather have that fire than I would a guy that you have to light his pilot light to get fire. You don't want to put that fire out. But instead of a raging fire, you want him to channel it like a torch.
direction glad guys quickly takes together unit verbal
It takes awhile. I'm glad all these guys are here. They've been doing a lot of drills. They've been doing a lot of things. You've got verbal direction instructions to each other. ... It's a unit you want to get together as quickly as possible, especially on defense.
accepts beneficial coaches easier fallen game guy guys hardest manager position
One of the hardest things in this game is a fallen star. When a guy accepts the position that he's in in his career, it makes it easier on a manager and coaches and very beneficial to the guys on the team.
bottom case exactly guys hit leagues legs minor nine order ready send top whatever
They'll have to get some concentrated at-bats. Every year, I send guys who I don't think are ready down to the Minor Leagues to hit at the top and bottom of the order so they get nine to 18 at-bats at a time. When they get back, I'll find out exactly how much they played. In the case of a catcher, you have to get his legs ready squatting up and down in a game, too. We'll do whatever we can to get them ready.
books checks guy jacket leaves library minutes player puts takes
He's the only player I've ever had who checks books out of my library in my office. This guy can read a book in about 15 minutes I think. He checks them out. He takes the jacket off, leaves the jacket, then puts it back on when he comes back.
early extra guys home known month ready start
I've known guys who go home early and, especially when you don't go to the postseason, it makes for a long, long winter. That extra month at home, you start getting ready to go back in December.