Dusty Baker

Dusty Baker is a Major League Baseball manager who currently manages the Houston Astros. A former major league player, who had a 19-year career as a hard-hitting outfielder, primarily with the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers. Baker was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 1967 amateur draft out of Del Campo High School near Sacramento, California. Baker was inducted into the Sac-Joaquin Section’s Hall of Fame class in 2010 for his play at Del Campo. He began his major league baseball career as an outfielder for the Braves in 1968. As a Brave, he earned a spot as a footnote in history. On April 8, 1974, he was on deck when Hank Aaron hit home run 715 to pass Babe Ruth in career home runs. He helped the Dodgers to pennants in 1977 and 1978 and to the World Series championship in 1981. He played for the Yaquis de Obregón of the Mexican Pacific League in the 70’s during the offseason, stating it was the toughest league he played in as a hitter.
Many of Baker’s accomplishments as a player came during his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers, which include playing for the National League All-Star team in 1981 and 1982, and winning three League Championship series in 1977, 1978, and 1981. Also in 1977, Dusty Baker was awarded the first ever National League Championship Series (NLCS) Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. Baker ultimately won a World Series title in 1981 with the Dodgers.
He previously managed the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and Washington Nationals. He led the Giants to the 2002 National League pennant and also reached the playoffs with the latter three teams. In 2020, he was hired to manage the Houston Astros on a one-year contract. In his first year with the Astros, Baker became the first MLB manager to lead five different teams to the playoffs.