Dusty Baker Finally Gets a World Series Title as Manager of the Nationals
Dusty Baker has been a manager in the major leagues for 30 years. He’s not just a manager any more. He is the manager of the Nationals. The Nats lost their first nine games of the season. And the team is 13 games worse than the year before. But the Nats have a good manager after all.
Dusty hasn’t won a World Series since 1980. But he’s got a good team in Washington that should go a long way this season.
Dusty Baker has been a legend in Seattle for his time in the city. He led the Mariners to back-to-back World Series appearances in 1982 and 1983. He’ll be one of the most respected and loved managers in baseball, not just in Washington.
He’ll also need to help his team get over the hurdle of losing to the Cubs’ Jon Lester for the first time in 2013.
But a manager can only take a team so far. In 2016, he had the best record in the majors at 62-25, with a.597 winning percentage. He led his team to the most wins in the NL since 1979, and the team made the playoffs for the first time since 1984. He’s won the AL Manager of the Year award two times in that span. He’s managed with the best of the best in Seattle. And now he’s got the world’s best team coming to town to look for a World Series title. And he’s going to need more than his teams to do it. He’s going to have to give them the pitching, offense, and defense.
After serving as part-time GM in 2013, Baker has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He will be remembered as the manager who led the Mariners to their first World Series in 35 years. He went on to manage the Dodgers and the Yankees, a remarkable string of success in a short time. After that, he worked in the front office, as GM and vice-president in the front office. He was inducted into the inaugural class of baseball
