Baker's illustrious résumé boasts clear case for Cooperstown

HOUSTON -- Dusty Baker is the only manager in baseball history to take five different teams to the playoffs, culminating with a long-awaited World Series title with the Astros in 2022. That only scratches the surface of a résumé that should lead Baker to be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

That could happen as early as next year, with Baker among eight men on the Contemporary Baseball Era ballot for managers, executives and umpires, as announced Monday. The list also includes Sandy Alderson, Bruce Bochy, Joe Maddon, Lou Piniella, Brian Sabean, Ted Turner and Bill White -- a who’s who of managers and executives who made significant contributions to the game dating back to the late 20th century.

A 16-member panel consisting of Hall of Fame players, Major League executives, media members and historians will consider each of the eight candidates, who must receive at least 75% of the vote to be elected. The results of the Class of 2027 ballot will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 6.

"It's not on my mind as much as other people put it on my mind," Baker said Wednesday. "I get these congratulatory texts and stuff like that and [I respond], 'I'm not in the Hall yet.' There's a lot of competition this year. This is a stacked ballot, and plus I hope everybody doesn't cancel everybody else out. You've got to get 75 percent of the votes and they've got some very, very qualified candidates. Somebody is going to be disappointed."

Baker, 77, was speaking Monday at an event hosted by CLASS Bookstore in Houston during an appearance to talk about his memoir: Crossroads: A Memoir in Baseball and Life. The conversation about Baker's book, career and life was moderated by Keith Watson, the son of Astros Hall of Fame slugger Bob Watson.

There may not have been a more unique figure in baseball history than Baker, who's one of the most revered men in the game and has mentored dozens, if not hundreds, of others off the field, the same way Hank Aaron mentored him when he broke in the Major Leagues as a 19-year-old in 1968.

"I was a good player, but I wasn't a great player," Baker said. "I always thought, I said, 'Well, maybe I'll get in [the Hall of Fame] as a manager.' I said that when I first started, but I didn't know this road was going to be this long [with] ups and downs, mostly ups. It would mean a lot to my family, a lot to Black America and a lot of white America. It would mean a lot to the Negro League guys I knew and played with in Hank, Willie [Mays] -- all the greats I've been fortunate enough to know."

Following an illustrious playing career with the Braves, Dodgers, Giants and A’s, Baker spent five seasons on San Francisco’s coaching staff -- that included serving as the team’s hitting coach from 1989-92. In 1993, he was named Giants manager and guided the club to a 103-59 record in his first year at the helm, winning NL Manager of the Year honors.

Baker went on to manage the Giants through the 2002 season, leading them to the playoffs in 1997, 2000 and ’02. In ’02, San Francisco reached the World Series but lost to the Angels in seven games. The Cubs hired Baker as manager prior to the ’03 campaign, and Chicago came one win shy of advancing to the World Series for the first time since 1945. He would serve as Cubs manager through 2006.

In 2008, Baker became the manager of the Reds and led Cincinnati to playoff appearances in 2010, ’12 and ’13. He then managed the Nationals from 2016-17, reaching the postseason in both of those years. The Astros brought Baker aboard as manager prior to the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and he finally won that elusive World Series title with Houston in 2022 before retiring following the ’23 season.

Baker finished his 26-year managerial career with 2,183 wins in the regular season, which is the eighth-most in history. He won division titles with five different teams and led teams to pennants in both leagues -- the Giants in the National League in 2002, and the Astros in the American League in 2021-22.

It was former Giants general manager Al Rosen who told Baker when he hired him to be manager that he was destined to be fired -- just like most managers before him.

"I said, 'No, Al,'" Baker said with a laugh. "I was actually fired once in Cincinnati and my contract expired the other times. It's damn near the same thing. The thing that people tell me, 'Congratulations on five different teams,' this and that. In my mind, it shouldn’t have been five teams. They say, 'Congratulations on your Manager of the Year [Award] three times.' In my mind, you know when you do a good job and you know when you don't do a good job. And most of the time I thought I did a good job, and I thought I was deserving a couple of more times."

When it comes to the Hall of Fame, there is no doubt Baker deserves the honor.