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
If a young man throws strikes, they can win. There have been a number of young guys who came up and have done quite well, especially if they have the maturity and demeanor to handle it and do it. This is an opportunity for somebody to win a job.
You're always concerned about it and you wonder how they're going to handle it. We've only played a few games. It's a period of adjustment for anybody changing leagues. You don't know the pitchers, you don't know the umpires, you don't know the philosophy of the pitching coach on the other side -- especially when you've been in the other league.
That's the most unselfish, smartest spot in the lineup. You have to be able to handle the bat. It's also a position that won't run as much because then they'll walk D-Lee. It's a position for a more established, accomplished veteran player.
If you rescue him every time, you'll have to rescue him all the time. If you leave him out there, you learn about them or they become a pitcher by coming through. He can say, 'I can handle the situation,' but until you've been in the situation, you don't know if you can handle it or not.
It's good for us because we're counting on them. They're on the team, and we feel they're ready to handle it. The more success they have, the more comfortable they feel, and the more comfortable all of us feel.
It got a little hairy there when we had a 3-0 lead and Delgado hit that home run. But that was the only mistake Zambrano made.
I think that's wrong because that way you're placing blame on one department,
Just a sad day on the pitching side.
Just because you can hit, doesn't mean you know how to play winning baseball, ... That's what I'm trying to instill here, and it's not easy to do in the short time I've been here.
I said, 'At times,' ... It's not an overall, long, extended, everybody issue. It's at times. There's a difference. If I contradicted myself, I'm sorry. It's at times. You've seen it. I've seen it, too. At times. Those are isolated incidents.
I said, 'Well, maybe you need to read it.
Our guys are busting it every day. We're not getting it done.
We executed that cutoff play perfectly. That was a very athletic play. That ball went into the gap, and it was obvious that they were going to send him. It was a perfect hop, a perfect throw and a perfect tag.
We have some guys that should get keys to the clubhouse because they beat the clubhouse guys here. It's a little bit different, because we've got some hard-working guys. They influence the other guys, and that's a positive effect.