Baker retires as manager of the Astros
Dusty Baker retired as manager of the Houston Astros, ending a 26-year career as a big league skipper highlighted by a World Series win last season.
“I’m very grateful and thankful to [owner] Jim Crane and the Houston Astros for giving me this opportunity, and to win a championship,” Baker told USA Today on Wednesday.
Baker said he’d like to move into an advisory role in baseball, either with the Astros or a team closer to his Northern California home.
“I have a lifetime of knowledge, much more than those who have never played the game,” said Baker, 74.
Baker stepped down after his fourth season with the Astros, who came one win shy of reaching the World Series for a third straight year. He finished his career ranked ninth with 2,183 victories in 4,046 regular-season games. He was the 12th manager in major league history to reach 2,000 wins and the first Black man to accomplish the feat.
San Francisco introduced Bob Melvin as the Giants’ new manager . ... Atlanta re-signed reliever Pierce Johnson to a $14.2million, two-year contract . ... Boston hired former Red Sox pitcher Craig Breslow as chief baseball officer . ... The Hall of Fame announced finalists for its Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in baseball broadcasting: Joe Buck, Gary Cohen, Dan Shulman, Joe Castiglione, Jacques Doucet, Tom Hamilton, Ernie Johnson Sr., Ken Korach, Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper.
ETC. NBA returns to old All-Star ways
The NBA All-Star Game
is going back to its roots, with the best of the East playing the best of the West.
Commissioner Adam Silver said the Feb. 18 game in Indianapolis will pit the top vote-getters from each conference in a 48-minute game.
“It’s back to basketball this season,” Silver said. “We heard it from our fans, I think the players recognize it too, that last year’s AllStar Game was something no one was proud of, and I don’t think it was anyone’s fault in particular. I think, though, that we need to refocus on what this league is really about.”
Philadelphia told disgruntled star James Harden to stay home instead of traveling for Thursday’s opener against Milwaukee. ... Dwight Howard denied accusations by a man who filed suit saying he was sexually assaulted by the former NBA star and another person at Howard’s Atlanta home. Howard said the 2021 encounter was consensual.
An outside firm gave the NCAA evidence of a Michigan sign-stealing scheme, the Washington Post reported, which included computer drives maintained and accessed by multiple Michigan coaches and led to the NCAA investigation. It was unclear who hired the firm to investigate Michigan . ... A Michigan State hearing officer determined that fired football coach Mel Tucker sexually harassed rape survivor and activist Brenda Tracy and was in violation of several terms of his contract, the Associated Press reported . ... The American Athletic Conference announced it is adding Army as a football-only member starting next year.
The Seattle Seahawks are reuniting with defensive end Frank Clark, bringing the veteran back to the team he started with . ... Kansas City linebacker Nick Bolton
had surgery on his fractured wrist and is out indefinitely. ... Green Bay put cornerback Eric Stokes (hamstring) and safety Darnell Savage
(calf) on injured reserve.
Rams coach Sean McVay
and wife Veronika had their first child, a baby boy named Jordan John McVay.
— Gary Klein
Elias Manoel had the first playoff hat trick in club history as the New York Red Bulls advanced past Charlotte 5-2 in the MLS opener.
Second-seeded Madison Keys was eliminated from the WTA Elite Trophy after losing her second roundrobin match, 6-3, 7-6 (3) to Caroline Garcia. Topseeded Barbora Krejcikova’s hopes of advancing took a dent after she lost to Daria Kasatkina 7-5, 1-6, 6-1.
Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic won’t fight for the UFC heavyweight championship next month after Jones tore a pectoral tendon training.
Kevin Fiala had a goal and an assist, and the Kings got their first home win, 6-3 over Arizona on Tuesday . ... Frank Vatrano scored on a breakaway in overtime as the Ducks snapped a threegame skid with their first road win, 3-2 over Columbus.