Dusty Baker reportedly to manage Astros
The Astros need a manager who could move on from A.J. Hinch and take them past the electronic signstealing scandal that rocked the organization and all of baseball.
It would make sense to hire an established manager known for integrity and trustworthiness, and it appears the Astros have their man.
According to a report by USA Today, the Astros are about to choose Dusty Baker, who managed the Giants for 10 years, including the 2002 World Series season, and later managed the Cubs, Reds and Nationals.
Other reports, including from the Houston Chronicle, indicate there’s no confirmation yet.
In each of his last four seasons, two in Cincinnati and two in Washington, Baker’s clubs made the playoffs.
Baker, 70, last managed in 2017, leading the Nationals to 97 wins. He was fired after they lost Game 5 of the Division Series for the second straight year.
Baker has won 1,863 games, ranking 15th on the alltime list. Everyone with more wins — except Bruce Bochy and Gene Mauch — is in the Hall of Fame. Bochy, who stepped down from his Giants’ gig after last season, is expected to be inducted into the Cooperstown shrine.
Hinch and Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow were suspended by Major League Baseball and fired by owner Jim Crane after results were released from MLB’s investigation into the signstealing scheme, which the Astros used during their 2017 championship season and in 2018.
Former Giants general manager Bobby Evans is a candidate for the Astros’ GM job.
Two other managers lost their jobs: Boston’s Alex Cora, who was Houston’s bench coach in 2017, and the Mets’ Carlos Beltran, Houston’s designated hitter that year.
The Mets have hired Luis Rojas, son of former Giants outfielder and manager Felipe Alou. The Red Sox haven’t made a hire.
Before the three openings, eight managers had been hired during the offseason, and Beltran was the lone minority, leaving Dave Roberts as the only African American manager. Of the 33 managers hired the past four years, Roberts and Baker had been the only African Americans.
Baker told The Chronicle late in 2019, “I told somebody about 10 years ago that I saw this coming, with the decline in African American players.” Just 8.2% of players on 2019 Opening Day rosters were African Americans, a significant drop from 19 percent in 1995.