Leading OFF
Back in World Series, Baker winning over fans for Astros
HOUSTON – Dusty Baker stands in the Minute Maid Park corridor, wearing gray-yellow-red wristbands on each arm, a Fitbit on his right, and knows what awaits when he steps through the Astros clubhouse door.
There are hundreds of ticket requests inside his office. Thousands of text messages are on his cellphone. There are people reaching out to him that he hasn’t heard from in decades.
Baker starts laughing at the irony. America still hates the Astros. They are outraged over the 2017 cheating scandal, using illegal video monitors and cameras to steal signs, booing them, taunting them and cursing them everywhere they go outside the city limits of Houston. So, how come baseball fans all around the world are suddenly conflicted, faced with the interesting dichotomy as Houston faces the Atlanta Braves in the World Series?
Yes, they may hate the Astros with every fiber of their body, but considering Baker is their manager, who won a World Series when he played for the Dodgers (in 1981) but has not won one in his coaching career, fans suddenly find themselves rooting for the Astros.
“There’s absolutely no question it’s because of Dusty,” general manager James Click said. “It speaks to what he brings to the table, and why he’s so important for this organization. There are a lot of people out there whose minds will never be swayed. They are going to be set in their opinion and their thoughts on what happened here. But if anybody can start moving this organization to the point where casual fans will root for the Astros, it’s Dusty.”
Baker, 72, may be the most beloved man in the game. No one has a wider array of friends, from every walk of life. He walks into a room, sits downs and talks, wanting to hear more about your life than his, and leaves with everyone feeling as if they’re his best friend.
If there’s any question just how much America loves Dusty, just listen to how many neutral fans are suddenly pulling for the Astros, wanting to see him win that ultimate prize as a manager before he’s done in this game.
“I’ve heard that from the time I got here,” Baker tells USA TODAY Sports in a 20-minute interview. “I got a lot of people that are more Astros fans now than they were when this all began.
“You can see some of the hostilities subside. I mean, how long can you hold that? I just hate the Astros have been singled out the way they were. You hear guys from other organizations saying it was happening all over the game, and saying, ‘Hey, man, it’s about time we get over it.’ ”
Baker was particularly appreciative that Athletics pitcher Chris Bassitt told the “Jomboy Media’s The Chris Rose Rotation” last week that sign stealing was widespread in the game.
“Houston was not the only team doing stuff,” Bassitt said. “Like, there was a lot of people doing stuff. I mean, fortunately, but unfortunately, only one team essentially got caught doing it, or was the guinea pig of it to clean the whole entire league up.
“But there was a lot going on. It was like an arms race, almost like it was like, ‘Hey, this team’s doing this. This team’s doing that. This team’s cheating here. This team’s doing this.’ … They knew what was going. Instead, no one stepped up, everyone let it happen. … They basically had to shove the proof into MLB’s face before they did anything.”
There were suspicions by a few members of the Astros organization, along with several scouts who were in attendance, that something fishy was going on during the American League championship series against the Red Sox. How did Boston go from hitting .296 with nine homers in the first three games, and suddenly go cold turkey, hitting .111 with two homers the final three games?
There is no proof of any wrongful behavior, and it’s not illegal to steal signs and pick up pitchers tipping their pitches, but eyebrows were raised.
“I don’t know, all I know is they were killing us,” Baker said, “and they suddenly stopped scoring. Nobody expected it be all or nothing.”
There were plenty of suspicions of the Astros back in the day, too, and it’s laughable to believe they were the only team stealing signs, but it took the hiring of Baker for people to acknowledge perhaps this is just an awfully talented team, reaching their third World Series in the past five years.
“He handled it perfectly,” Astros AllStar shortstop Carlos Correa said. “He had our back from the moment he walked in the clubhouse. He had it tough. Real tough. But he always stuck by us and took care of us.”
Said third baseman Alex Bregman: “Dusty is a legend in the game. He’s a winner, and loves competing. It would be amazing to win a World Series for him.”
Baker, who was working as a Giants consultant while running his energy company in Sacramento, California, didn’t need this job. He had friends who weren’t sure he should take the job.
“I had some family members tell me, ‘Hey, you sure you want to do this?’ ” he said. “‘You sure you can handle this? You know, we’re worried about you.’ ”
As it turned out, people should have spent their time worrying about the Astros’ opposition with Baker at the helm. They raced past Oakland and Seattle to win the AL West. They beat the White Sox and Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa in the division series. They knocked off World Series champion manager Alex Cora and Boston in the ALCS. And now they have a chance to become the first AL team to win two World Series titles in five years since the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007.
“When I talked to Dusty for a couple of hours in our interview,” said Astros owner Jim Crane, who is expected to give Baker a one-year contract with a healthy pay hike after the season, “I knew right then he was the right guy to handle the job. He certainly kept the players unified and playing well. I’m just amazed what he’s been able to do, lead the team, and handle all of the problems . ... Really, he’s better than I thought he could ever be.”
Said Click, who was hired after Baker: “You look at the integrity, the credibility, the reputation Dusty brings, it’s unmatched in the game. This organization was thirsty for that at that time.”
Baker looks down at his Fitbit to check his heart rate. It’s the same Fitbit that caused consternation with MLB officials, remembering the Red Sox relaying signals with their Apple Watches, and later using a video room employee to illegally send signs.
“The league came in and asked me about it in Seattle,” Baker said. “They said, ‘Can you get phone messages on it? I told them, ‘You know what, I’d be the stupidest guy in the world to be cheating.’ I take my heart rate during the game, that’s what I use it for.”
Baker wishes it would all stop during the World Series.
“You can only be driven by ‘I’ll show you,’ or be driven by negative motivation so far,” he said. “I think this team is way past that because they know they can play.”