Johnnie B. Baker: Now a Dodger Legend

           Friday night, August 9th, 2024. The Dodgers in a moving pre-game ceremony inducted another player into the Legends of Dodger Baseball. His name, Johnnie B. “Dusty” Baker. Baker was born in Riverside California on June 15th, 1949. His father, Johnnie B. Sr, was a defense industry worker. His mother, Christine, was a professor. Baker’s dad would work for Sears as a salesman in the evenings. “Dad worked two jobs so the family could have what it needed” he said. 

                 Since both parents had jobs, as the oldest of five Baker children, he would often be called upon to manage his unruly siblings. When things went south, it was Johnnie B who was punished by his father. As for his education, his mom was the guiding parent. She decided which courses he would take in school.

            His nickname, Dusty, was picked up early in his life. His mother would tag him with the name. His family had a big backyard which his father planted with a lot of grass. But there was one spot in the middle that was dirt, and that was where he liked to play. His mom did not want to name him Dirty, so she called him Dusty instead. 

            Along with his academic courses, his mother insisted that he learn how to play the piano. ” I wanted to be Jerry Lee Lewis, or Little Richard, she wanted me to be Liberace. Did I have a choice? That wasn’t a word in our house.” “She told me I was going to have culture whether I wanted it or not. Love is discipline, I had plenty of both.”

            Dusty had expressed an interest in baseball early in life. His dad felt that if you were going to do something, you should completely finish it. When he said he wanted to play, his dad hit him hundreds of baseballs, by the time he was 12, he was a very good player. He wanted to hang up his glove a couple of times, but his dad would not let him. 

            When Baker was 14, his father lost his job, and the family moved to Sacramento. He enrolled at Del Campo high school where he and his brother were the only Black students. He excelled in several sports and was chosen all-city in baseball, and all-county in basketball, track and football during his time there. Basketball was his best sport. Baker and his friends would play as often as possible, although the “pickup games in his driveway would always cease when his father came home from work at 4 PM.

            Later when he was asked about playing baseball in high school, he said,” I was good in baseball, but I wasn’t great in baseball. I played with the school team in spring and in the summer, I played with the American Legion, Little League, or Pony League. I came all the way up, I was skilled, but I was not strong.

                  During his senior year, his parents divorced. His father wanted him to go to college, but Dusty had other plans. When the Braves drafted him in the 26th round of the 1967 amateur draft, Baker had already received a basketball scholarship to UC Santa Clara. Against his father’s wishes, he and his mother signed a contract with the Braves. 

                The Braves sent him to the AA Austin Braves of the Texas League. He played in 9 games and hit.231. The following year, he bounced around the Braves system, playing Class-A ball at Greenwood and West Palm Beach as well as playing in the Arizona Fall League. He made his MLB debut on September 7th, 1968, pinch hitting for Phil Niekro, he came up empty but managed to get 2 hits in 5 appearances by the end of the season. 

                In 1968, the Braves asked Baker to enlist in the US Marine Corps Reserve. He wasn’t crazy about the idea, but later said it was one of the best things that ever happened in his life. He said it helped him a lot. He came home more disciplined. He served as an auto-mechanic until his honorable discharge as a lance-corporal in 1974. 

               He continued to move up through the Braves system in 1969. In between his time in the reserves, he played at AA Shreveport and AAA Richmond. He hit .285 with 11 homers and 61 driven in. He also appeared in 3 games with the Braves at the end of the season. 

              Atlanta was so confident in his abilities that he spent most of the 70 and 71 seasons at AAA Richmond. He hit over .300 both years, .325,.311 and was called up in September of 71 and he played in 20 games. He finally made the Braves roster for good in 1972 and was named the teams center fielder. 

             Baker provided punch to the Braves team hitting .321, second to Ralph Garr. He was even in contention for the NL batting title that year. After that first full season, Dusty cemented his role as the Braves centerfielder for the next three seasons. His average was .269 and he slugged 60 homers over that stretch. Playing alongside Henry Aaron, the press began to tout him as the “next Hank Aaron.” Braves manager, Eddie Mathews said that maybe Dusty did not have the power Aaron had, be he had everything else, he is a tremendous athlete.  

             Despite all the praise, on November 17th, 1975, Baker was traded to the Dodgers along with Ed Goodson for Jimmy Wynn, Jerry Royster, Tom Paciorek, and Lee Lacy. Dusty had requested a trade after the 75 season and the Braves obliged him. He went home to California where he would become the CF for the Dodgers. ” He can run, throw, field, and hit for power. And it is our feeling that he hasn’t yet reached his peak.” Al Campanis. 

            Well, the 1976 season did not turn out the way Baker or the Dodgers had hoped. Dusty ended up playing in only 112 games for the Dodgers. He injured his knee towards the end of the year. It would require surgery for stretched ligaments. His first year as a Dodger he hit .242 with just 4 homers and 32 RBI’s. 

            Baker moved to left field the following year, and he raised his BA, 50 points. He also clubbed 30 homers and drove in 86. He was part of the first quartet of teammates to hit 30 or more homers. Garvey,33, Reggie Smith, 32, Ron Cey, 30 and Dusty, 30. And Baker hit his 30th on the last day of the season off of JR Richard of the Astros. As he rounded the bases and crossed home plate, teammate, Glenn Burke and he did the first ” high five” in baseball. 

             Dusty was named the MVP of the NLCS against the Phillies. He hit .357 with 2 homers and 8 driven in. One of the homers was a grand slam in the 4th inning of game 2 off of Jim Lonborg. It helped the Dodgers even the series at a game apiece. His second came in game 4, the second inning off of Steve Carlton. It was a 2-run shot and gave the Dodgers the lead, and they won the game to win the series. 

          He did well in the 77 series against the Yankees. He hit .297 with a homer and 5 driven in during the 6-game series loss to the Yankees. His production dipped quite a bit in 1978, he hit .262 and only had 11 homers. The Dodgers though won the division again and advanced to the LCS. Once again, they met the Phillies, and once again, they won the series in four games. Dusty hit .467 but only drove in 1 run and had no homers. This time he hit only .238 in the six-game series loss to the Yankees, but he did hit a homer. 

           The Dodgers fell to third place in 1979. They had a losing record for the first time in several years. Dusty rebounded to a .274/23/88 campaign. In 1980, Baker improved even more. He hit .294/29/97. His 29 homers led the team, and his 97 RBIs were second only to Garvey. The Dodgers had to win their last 3 games of the season at home against the first place Astros. They did that in dramatic fashion as all three games were decided by 1 run. The first was a walk off 3-2 win in 10 innings. Valenzuela won in relief. Ruess then shut down the Stros 2-1, beating Nolan Ryan. The final game was a 4-3 win. Steve Howe got the win as four Dodger relievers bailed out Burt Hooton who lasted just 1 inning and allowed 2 runs. Castillo went 4 allowing 1 run. Valenzuela, Howe and Don Sutton, shut down Houston the rest of the way. 

         LA was down 3-0 but came back to score 4 with Ron Cey’s 2-run homer in the bottom of the 8th being the deciding runs. Sutton relieved Howe with 2 out and a man on for the save. Dusty was 1-4. The next day, Dave Goltz started game 163 for the Dodgers but he gave up 4 runs and was gone by the third inning as the Dodgers lost, 7-1. I was in the hospital that day, having a stomach stapling surgery to help me lose weight. My girlfriend told me the score while I was in the ICU. 1980 was Dusty’s walk year. He earned his first Silver Slugger award, and after the season, he signed a five-year-deal with the Dodgers.

          Baker would hit .320 in the strike shortened 1981 season. He would also earn his first gold glove, his second silver slugger, and would make his first All-Star game. He got 2 at bats in the game as a replacement for George Foster. He managed to get a hit. The Dodgers returned to the post-season. Dusty hit .167 in the LDS with Houston. He had just 1 RBI. He hit .316 against Montreal in the LCS, no homers and 3 driven in. He hit only .167 in the World Series against the Yankees. He drove in only 1 but scored 3 times. He and the Dodgers were World Champs.

         Dusty had a good 1982 season. He hit .300/23/88. The Dodgers would finish second, 1 game back of the Braves. Dusty made the All-Star team again. He went hitless in two at bats. 1981 had been the last season that “The Infield” would be together. Lopes was traded to the A’s after the 81 season and Sax took over at second. After the 82 season, Garvey left as a free agent and signed with the Padres. Ron Cey was traded to the Cubs. 

      In 1983, Dusty’s performance fell off as he went .260/15/73. He did hit .357 with a homer in the losing effort against the Phillies in the LCS. When the Dodgers attempted to trade him, he resisted, and the Dodgers put him on waivers. He signed with the Giants on April 1st, 1984, but only after signing his waiver release. There had been some rumors that he was using PED’s, and Dusty felt the only way to clear his name was to sign his release. He also knew he needed to perform on the field. He said,” I am afraid to do something illegal, I have a nice life, I have a nice family.”

                 Dusty would play one season with the Giants in a part time role, moving between left and right fields. He hit .292/3/32. He was now 35 years old. After the season, the Giants traded him across the bay to the Oakland A’s for two minor leaguers. Dusty was happy for the chance to play for the A’s. They used him at first base and the outfield. Steve Garvey sent Dusty a first baseman’s glove and Baker worked hard to learn the position. He hit .268/14/52 for the A’s, but they finished 4th in the West. Dusty did not know it at the time, but the 85 season would be his last full season as a player in the majors. In 86, he was in 83 games and hit .240/4/19. 

          After the season, the A’s wanted to send Dusty to their AAA team, but he decided to retire. He left baseball with a career average of .278. He slugged 242 homers and drove in 1013 runs. He also stole 137 bags. After retiring, Baker went to work as a stockbroker in Los Angeles. In the fall of 1987, Al Rosen, the GM of the Giants signed Baker as the first base coach, he also urged Baker to get some managerial experience in the winter fall league. Baker thought minor league experience was over-rated. He felt he managed in his mind while he was playing and was enough of a student of the game to not need that experience.

       After spending 1 year as the first base coach, he spent the next four, 89-92, as the Giants hitting coach under Roger Craig. He took over for Craig in 1993. He took his Giants to a 103-59 record, 1 game behind the Braves and 31 games better than their finish in 92. That earned him NL Manager of the year honors. 

       Dusty would manage the Giants until 2002. His team won division titles in 1997 and 2000. He also earned Manager of the Year awards those two seasons. His 2002 team made it to the playoffs as a wild card team and ended up winning the pennant. They then faced the Angels in an epic 7 game series only to lose game 7. In his 10 years as manager of the Giants they went 840-715. The Giants decided not to offer him a contract after the season. 

          Baker was not unemployed long. The Cubs hired him to manage days after he was cut loose by the Giants. Dusty said he hoped to help the Cubs improve. They had not had back-to-back winning seasons since 72-73. Many of the Cubs writers told Baker they felt sorry for him. Like managing the Cubs was a death wish. 

         Dusty made an immediate impact on the Cubs. They rode the bats of Sammy Sosa and Moises Alou to their first division title in 14 years. The made it all the way to the LCS but lost to the Marlins in what became known as the Bartman series. The Cubs were up 3-0 with 5 outs to go to make it to their first World Series in 60 years. 

      In 2004, they were in a tight wild card race with the Astros. They fell just short. The Cubs then had 2 straight years where they finished under .500. In 2005, they were curtailed by injuries to key players. In 2006, they finished with the worst record in the NL at 66-96. He was 4 games under .500 as manager of the Cubs. They did not re-new his contract.

PFU ScanSnap Manager #S1500

        In October of 2007, he was hired to manage the Reds. In his first two seasons, the Reds struggled and finished with losing records. Then in 2010, they surprised everyone and won the NL Central. It was their first playoff appearance in 14 years. They lost to the Phillies in the LDS, but the Reds gave Baker a two-year extension. 

          They struggled in 2011, but in 2012, Baker led them to a 97-65 record. Towards the end of the season, Dusty was hospitalized with an irregular heartbeat. The Reds clinched the division title while he was absent. But once again, the Reds could not get past the Giants in the LDS. Baker was given another two-year extension. 

          In 2013, the Reds finished with a 90-72 record. But they lost to the Pirates in the wild card game. The sixth straight time they had lost at the end of the season. Dusty was fired. He said it was probably about time. He was being jeered and receiving hate mail. His record with the Reds was 509-463. 

           On November 3rd, 2015, Baker was hired by the Washington Nationals to be their manager. When he was hired, he was #2 in total wins of all active managers.  “We wanted a manager who would help us complete our goal of competing for a World Series Championship.” owner Ted Lerner said. 

      The Nationals won the NL East in Bakers first season at the helm. But they lost the NLDS to the Dodgers in 5 games. Then they won the NL East a second time in 2017. This time they lost the NLDS to the Cubs. Despite two straight division titles and a 97-65 record in 2017, in October, the Nats announced that Baker would not return. “Winning a lot of regular season games and division titles is not enough.” GM Mike Rizzo said that. 

        Dusty returned to the Giants as a special advisor to the Giants CEO, Lawrence Baer. This was 2018. He would be helping on the field and with the business end of the team’s operations. “We are glad to have Dusty back in the Giants organization. He is one of the Giants beloved alumni and he brings years of expertise to the organization.” This was said by Baer at the time of the hire. 

        But it did not take long for another team to come calling and lure Baker back into the dugout. This time, it was the Houston Astros. In January of 2020, Baker was named the new manager of the Astros. He signed a one-year deal with a second-year option. It would be the first time he managed in the American League. 

        Of course, 2020 was a season like no other had ever been. The Covid pandemic shortened the season to 60 games, and despite finishing under .500, 29-31, the Astros clinched a playoff spot as the sixth seed. Baker became the first manager to lead five different teams to the playoffs. 

         Many wondered if his option would be picked up, the Stros lost in the ALCS to the Rays in 7 games. They lost the first three, then won three and lost the deciding game, 4-2. All of the games were in San Diego at Petco Park. But Houston picked up his option mid-way through the 2020 season. 

          In 2021, Baker led the Astros to the postseason again. He became the first manager to win a division title with five different teams. But they lost the World Series to Freddie Freeman and the Braves in six games. Baker was chosen Manager of the Year for the fourth time in his career. The year ended with Dusty just 13 wins shy of 2000. 

          The Astros gave him another 1-year deal. On May 3rd, 2022, the Astros defeated the Mariners and Baker had his 2000th win. He was just the 12th manager to do so, and the first Black manager to achieve the feat. He thought about how Jackie Robinson and Frank Robinson had helped him so much at the beginning of his career, he also thought about his detractors who felt he needed experience, and he had never managed in the minors.

          Baker led the Astros to another division championship. They swept both of their playoff series and advanced to the World Series against the Phillies. They lost 2 of the first 3 games, and then won three in a row to win the Championship. Baker became the oldest manager to win the Series. 

         Baker signed on for another year and led the Stros to another division title, although it was a really tight race with the Rangers. They won the LDS but then lost to the Rangers in the LCS. After the season, Baker decided to retire. Dusty finished his career as a manager with a 2183-1862 record. He won 3 pennants and 1 World Series.

New Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker.

                                                                                                  Minor League Scoreboard

                        Rancho beat Lake Elsinore, 9-2. Neither team scored until the bottom of the 7th when Rancho scored 6 runs. Hainline walked and Rodrigues singled him to third. Guererro struck out and Hope was hit by a pitch loading the bases. Quintero walked forcing in a run. Munoz then hit a ground ball that the first baseman mishandled for an error and two runs scored. Decker walked loading the bases again. Meza grounded out and another run scored. Osorio then singled in the 6th run. The Storm scored 2 in the top of the 8th. Rancho came back and scored 3 in the bottom of the 8th. With 2 outs, Hope hit his 8th homer, then Quintero doubled. Munoz singled and Quintero scored. Decker doubled driving in Munoz with the final run. Hope was 3-3 and stole his 6th base. He raised his average to .293. Rodrigues was the only other Quake with multiple hits. Jang went 4 hitless innings allowing only 2 walks and striking out 3. Santana pitched 2.2 scoreless innings. Figueredo went 1 inning and allowed both runs. Cabrera and Yean finished up. 

                      Great Lakes dropped a 5-4 decision to Wisconsin. Wisconsin took a 3-0 lead in the top of the 2nd inning. The Loons scored 2 in the bottom of the 3rd. Galiz doubled, Biddison was hit by a pitch, then Vogle was hit also, loading the bases. Campbell hit into a double-play and Galiz scored. De Paula walked, then Nevin singled scoring Biddison. In the bottom of the 5th, with 1 out, Campbell walked and then De Paula hit his 4th homer. The score stayed 4-3 until the top of the 9th when Wisconsin scored 2. The Loons had runners on second and third with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th when Nevin struck out to end the game. Heubeck went 1.1 innings and gave up 3 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks. Ramirez pitched the 9th and got the loss. 

                      Tulsa was shut out 7-0 on just 3 hits. Rosario took the loss. 

                   OKC won a squeaker, 2-1 over El Paso. The Chihuahua’s managed only 3 hits while OKC had five. Avans had 2 of the 5 hits and drove home the winning run. In the bottom of the third, after a single and a couple of walks, Lipcius drove home Gauthier with a sac-fly. El Paso tied the game in the top of the 5th on a homer by Eddie Rosario, who was recently signed to a minor league deal by the Padres after the Braves released him. The game stayed tied until the bottom of the 9th.With 1 out, Trejo singled, he went to second on a balk. Gauthier walked and Avans singled in Trejo with the winning run. Knack went 5 innings giving up 2 hits and a run, he walked 3 and struck out 5. Honeywell went 2 scoreless. Hahn pitched a scoreless inning and Dryer pitched the 9th and got the win.