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
We were a lot closer before I got here. When you play 18 times against teams that have been long-time rivalries, and then it's against my former manager and my confidant before I came here, it increases things.
We're going to miss him big time but we know we're going to get him back, too.
Walker is probably the front-runner for that position. But he knows he has some competition for that job.
When I look at my score sheet and I look at theirs, I'm kind of outmanned, ... I've never been in that situation in September. It's just one of those years, I guess.
We needed an extra bat. We were a little short, especially with some of the guys being hurt. 'Big Ben' has done an outstanding job, especially coming off the bench. With the rosters expanded, we thought he could help us.
We needed an extra bat, ... We were a little short, especially with some of the guys being hurt. 'Big Ben' has done an outstanding job, especially coming off the bench. With the rosters expanded, we thought he could help us.
Woody is the most advanced. Miller and Prior aren't too, too far behind.
We're still friends. But on the field, we're competitors. You have a heated discussion with your wife, does that mean you don't love her anymore? That's just part of the competition. Part of the game.
This is the youngest team I've had, which is what I've been yearning for really for years now. The younger the team, sometimes the more mistakes, but the more open and willing they are to be taught how to play. It seems like the older players are set in their ways.
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.
Boy, that was a great comeback victory especially after we kind of gave it to them in the (sixth) inning with those two runs.
You never see anyone lose two guys on one play. But nobody cares if Lee's hurt or not except us and the people in Chicago and the people who know him. We'll just have to adjust and just keep on adjusting.
A lot of these things you shouldn't have to stress at the big-league level. That's what big leagues mean.
It was frightening at first because you heard that loud sound. They've got a new-style helmet now. I hope it works. It has a little less padding and more holes, I guess to absorb the shock. We got its first test today.