Astro’s Manager Dusty Baker Finally Wins First World Series

HOUSTON — The Astros’ manager stood on the stage where the World Series trophy was presented late Saturday night and channeled his inner Jimmy Johnson.

“How about those Astros!” Dusty Baker said.

After 25 seasons managing in the major leagues and two previous trips to the World Series, Baker is finally a world champion manager. With the Astros’ 4-1 victory over the Phillies in Game 6, the 73-year-old Baker became the oldest manager to lead a team to a World Series title.

Hired to stabilize the organization before the 2020 season — in the aftermath of the team’s sign-stealing scheme from 2017 that cost former manager A.J. Hinch his job — Baker might now be the most popular man in Texas.

“Dusty has been unbelievable since Day 1,” Astros third baseman Alex Bregman said. “He’s been an unbelievable manager, an unbelievable human being just on a personal level with every person in our clubhouse, he loves the game of baseball, he has dedicated his life to this game and he deserves it. He’s an unbelievable manager and unbelievable man.”

Baker took the Giants to Game 7 of the World Series in 2002 before they lost to the Angels. Under his guidance last season, the Astros made it to the World Series before losing to the Braves in six games.

“I have thought about [winning the World Series] a lot,” Baker said. “I tried to have faith and perseverance and knowing with the right team and right personnel you knew this was going to happen.

“Had this happened years ago, I might not even be here. So maybe it wasn’t supposed to happen so that I could hopefully influence a few young men’s lives and their families and a number of people in the country through showing what perseverance and character can do for you in the long run.”

The Astros rolled to the AL West title this season, winning 106 games, before starting the postseason 7-0 with ALDS and ALCS sweeps of the Mariners and Yankees, respectively. The Phillies, however, jumped ahead 2-1 in the World Series, before the Astros closed it out with three straight victories.

Baker said the Astros were motivated by the controversy surrounding the 2017 World Series title, amid the sign stealing, and World Series losses to the Nationals and Braves in 2019 and 2021 respectively.

“I think that’s what drove this team,” Baker said. “That’s what motivated them. The boos and the jeers that we got all over the country, it bothered these guys, but it also motivated them at the same time. And it wasn’t an ‘us against the world’ thing. It was more of a ‘come together even closer’ type thing. And what happened before, it doesn’t ever pass over completely. But we have turned the page and hopefully we’ll continue this run.”