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09/27/2003 10:22 PM ET 
Baker is Cubs' pied piper
Manager is master motivator, liked by all his players
By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com
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Manager Dusty Baker believes he was meant to take the position in Chicago. (Aynsley Floyd/AP)
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs did a victory lap around Wrigley Field after clinching the NL Central Division title on Saturday. Randall Simon led the players.

"Dusty told me to do it," Simon said.

If Dusty Baker told the Cubs to stand on one foot, flap their arms and squawk like a chicken, they'd do that, too.

The Cubs swept a doubleheader Saturday against Pittsburgh to overcame history and the lovable loser label so often attached to the franchise in Baker's first year as the team's manager. He led the San Francisco Giants to the World Series last year, then left. It wasn't an easy decision. He has no regrets.

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"When the season ended last year, I prayed on where to go," Baker said. "The Lord told me to go to Chicago. Two years ago, my mother-in-law was deathly ill and ended up dying and (before she died) she told me she wanted me to go to Chicago. That's what I think about -- I think about my wife and my family and all the people who have been behind us."

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry knew Baker was coming to Chicago. After a 67-95 season in 2002, the team needed to do something.

"From the first day, Dusty was choice one, two and three," Hendry said. "I felt from day one, what we were trying to do and what we wanted to do not just now but for the future, he was the right guy. He was the guy we wanted."

The Cubs' 2002 season doesn't count for Baker. Neither does any year before that. He started fresh in 2003.

"I didn't think about 67 wins," he said. "You think about having a winning season and staying in the hunt and keeping the faith.

"Realistically, i didn't know what to expect," Baker said of this year's Cubs. "I was trying to get guys in the best possible shape in Spring Training. You analyze the situation. You hope and pray things work out the way you hoped. I didn't have realistic expectations because I didn't know what I had."