It’s no secret that when Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker finally decides to hang them up, he will be a lock for the Hall of Fame, joining some of the best managers in the history of the game such as Tony La Russa, John McGraw, Joe Tower, and several others.
For the first time in his managerial career, Baker took a team to the World Series and won.
Baker had been to the Fall Classic twice, taking the San Francisco Giants to the big dance in 2002 and guiding the Astros back to the series in 2021.
But this time, the 73-year-old managed to close the deal.
In fact, if the Astros win 106 games in 2023, as they did this year, he will finish the season ranked sixth all-time in wins among managers behind Connie Mack, La Russa, McGraw, Bobby Cox, and Torre.
If the 2023 Astros replicate their 2022 regular-season performance, Dusty Baker will finish next year ranked sixth all-time in wins among managers, behind Connie Mack, Tony La Russa, John McGraw, Bobby Cox and Joe Torre.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 15, 2022
Baker Can Make History In 2023
Even at 73, Baker remains one of the best managers in all of baseball.
He is widely considered to be a player’s manager, one that commands immediate respect and forms close bonds with his players.
All he has to do next season is guide the Astros to 106 wins again.
Given the state of their team, that shouldn’t be too hard.
Even after losing Justin Verlander, the Astros boast a pitching staff that features Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Lance McCullers Jr. Luis Garcia, and Ryan Pressly.
The team still has Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, and Yordan Alvarez.
They also have ALCS and World Series MVP Jeremy Pena manning the shortstop position and the newly signed Jose Abreu at first base.
