WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The offseason, as short as it was, was filled with congratulations, speaking engagements and even a much-needed vacation to Hawaii. It was unlike any before for Dusty Baker, the baseball lifer who achieved the two career goals in 2022 that were missing on what is now surely a Hall of Fame resume.
Baker, who became the 12th manager to reach 2,000 career wins in May and became the oldest manager to win a World Series when his Astros beat the Phillies in six games in the Fall Classic, basked in the glow of the championship for three months. He even squeezed in a pair of dinner appearances Wednesday and Thursday in Houston before returning to camp Friday morning during the second day of workouts for pitchers and catchers.
“It was a very short winter, a very fulfilling winter,” Baker said. “It always feels good to come back and see the guys. You see what kind of shape they’re in, you see who worked and you see who matured from a boy to a man. This is an exciting time of the year.”
Baker arrived at camp Saturday, but he went back to Houston for two nights during the week. He was honored Wednesday night at Minute Maid Park by the Houston Chapter of the NAACP, then he was the guest of honor at the MD Anderson “Conversation with a Living Legend” charity dinner on Thursday. Baker said it was the first time he’s missed a day of camp as a manager.
“It was very weird, but I got summoned to do something else to help out some people, to help out the NAACP one night and to raise money for cancer,” he said. “It was a little strange, but I’m hoping I don’t miss any more time because I don’t think I’ve missed a day in Spring Training, especially a personal day. It’s OK. I just hope my guys don’t fine me.”
Baker, 73, has been in baseball for more than half a century and is enjoying it as much as ever. He’s rooming with his son, Darren, a Minor Leaguer for the Washington Nationals, who share a Spring Training complex with the Astros. He has nothing left to prove in the game that’s been so good to him, but he still has plenty to give. Baker said he’s not ready to retire yet.
“The Lord will tell me and my body will tell me,” he said. “I do know I got this year.”
And what Baker has this year is a legitimate shot to repeat as World Series champions. The Astros return pretty much intact from last year, save for losing 2022 American League Cy Young winner Justin Verlander and adding '20 AL MVP José Abreu to play first base. The lineup is deeper, the pitching staff is among the best in the Majors and they have tons of playoff experience. Expectations are high.
“To say that you’re not going to miss Verlander, I totally disagree in that, but he’s not here,” Baker said. “We have to figure out a way, and hopefully these guys have matured in the last year to pick up his innings. He was the leader of our pitching staff, and so hopefully somebody else will pick up that torch and be the leader and possibly learn from him. That’s big. Or is it a combined effort for five or six guys?”
As much as he cherishes the World Series run, Baker is ready to move on. Sure, the Astros will drop a banner and get World Series rings in the first two days of the regular season, but the start of Spring Training means gearing up for 2023. In facing the media scrum for the first time, Baker had his patented line ready to go: “When you win one, you want to win two.”
“You can’t live in the past. You’ve got to think about the present,” he said. “What you have to do and how it could be done are difficult. There are other teams that have gotten better. Everybody is [trying to beat] us, which is cool when I think about some of the great [sports coaches] in the past, like Red Auerbach [who won nine titles with the Boston Celtics], and how they must have felt going after eight, nine and 10. Here I am going for No. 2."