Astros’ Baker will not return

HOUSTON — Dusty Baker has retired as manager of the Houston Astros, ending an illustrious 26-year career as a Major League Baseball skipper highlighted by a World Series championship to cap the 2022 season. Baker broke the news in an interview with USA Today on Wednesday. “I’m very grateful and thankful to (team owner) Jim Crane and the Houston Astros for giving me this opportunity, and to win a championship,” Baker told the national outlet. “I felt like they’ve been good for me and I’ve been good for them. What I really appreciate is that Jim has been totally honest and transparent with me on all things.” Baker told the newspaper that 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’ve still got a lot to offer; baseball has been my life,” the 74-year-old Baker said. “I have a lifetime of knowledge, much more than those who have never played the game.” The Astros scheduled a news conference for Thursday morning that Baker, Crane and general manager Dana Brown are set to attend. Baker stepped down after his fourth season with the Astros, who came one win shy of what would have been their third straight World Series appearance. They lost to the Texas Rangers in the American League Championship Series, which went all seven games and wrapped up Monday night. A toothpick chewer and an epic storyteller who seemed to know just about everybody in baseball, Baker finished his career ranked ninth with 2,183 victories in 4,046 regular-season games. He was the 12th manager in MLB history to reach 2,000 wins and the first Black man to accomplish the feat. Ten of the other 11 managers who have accumulated at least 2,000 wins are in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Bruce Bochy

(2,093), who is still managing the Rangers and isn’t yet eligible, is the only exception. Baker began managing in 1993 after a 19-year playing career as an outfielder. He played alongside Hank Aaron with the Atlanta Braves and won a World Series while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1981. Baker managed the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals before coming to Houston. He’s the only manager in major league history to take five franchises to the postseason, and he came to the Astros to help clean up their image in the wake of their sign-stealing scandal that cost manager A.J. Hinch his job.

BASKETBALL

› CHARLOTTE, N.C. — P.J. Washington scored 25 points, rookie Brandon Miller provided a huge spark with eight of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, and the Charlotte Hornets held on to defeat the Atlanta Hawks 116-110 on Wednesday night in the NBA season opener for both teams. Terry Rozier added 24 points for the Hornets and LaMelo Ball shook off a rough first half and finished with 15 points and 10 assists. Mark Williams chipped in with 13 points and 15 rebounds for Charlotte. Trae Young had 23 points to lead the Hawks, though he shot 1-for-9 from 3-point range, and Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson had a career-high 21 points. Miller, the No. 2 overall pick in the draft this past summer, was the first man off the bench for the Hornets and knocked down a 3 from the left wing on his first shot, drawing a roar from the home crowd. But the former University of Alabama standout picked up his third foul midway through the second quarter and had to sit most of the first half. Miller returned and started to heat up in the fourth quarter, converting a step-back 3 from the corner before burying another trey from the top of the key to give the Hornets a 101-99 lead they never surrendered in the final 4:19.

SOCCER

› HARRISON, N.J. — Elias Manoel secured the first playoff hat trick in club history, and the New York Red Bulls advanced past Charlotte 5-2 on Wednesday night in the opening game of the MLS playoffs. New York (12-13-10 in the regular season) snapped a string of four straight postseason losses in opening matches, losing all four by one-goal margins. The Red Bulls advance to a best-of-three series with Cincinnati. Charlotte (10-12-13), which was eliminated, had won three of its final four matches in the regular season to reach the playoffs after winning just one of its previous 15 league matches. Manoel has scored six of his eight career MLS goals against Charlotte. Charlotte’s first postseason goal came in the 49th minute on a bicycle kick from Kerwin

Vargas to get within 3-1. Charlotte also scored in the 64th to make it 4-2.