Astros Manager Dusty Baker Officially Announces His Retirement
It's official.
Dusty Baker has announced he will be retiring from his role as manager of the Houston Astros.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY, Baker informed Astros' owner Jim Crane in a private meeting on Tuesday that he would retire.
"I’m very grateful and thankful to Jim Crane and the Houston Astros for giving me this opportunity, and to win a championship. I felt like they’ve been good for me, and I’ve been good for them," the legendary manager told USA TODAY.
Nightengale writes, "A press conference has been scheduled for Thursday at noon ET at Minute Maid Park, where Baker is expected to publicly announce his decision."
He was hired by Houston in 2020 to lead them out of the cheating scandal that rocked the baseball world.
Already one of the best managers of all-time, Baker added to his illustrious resume by winning his first World Series championship in 2022.
He ranks seventh in MLB history with 2,183 victories, fourth with 57 postseason wins and is the only person to ever lead five different teams to the playoffs.
There were rumblings before the year that this could be Baker's last season, and according to Nightengale, he knew all along that it would be his final year.
"I thought about it before the year, but the reason I didn’t want to mention it is because of my conversations with Bruce Bochy ... saying how distracting it was for his team in San Francisco. I didn’t want to do that. It wasn’t fair to my players," Baker said.
He will certainly be elected into the Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible in three years, which would make him the first Black manager to be inducted into Cooperstown.
Baker might be done managing, but he still wants to be involved with the sport in some capacity.
"I’ve still got a lot to offer; baseball has been my life," he said. "I have a lifetime of knowledge, much more than those who have never played the game."
Now, the Astros will begin the process of finding their next manager this offseason.
