Dusty Baker
Dusty Baker
Johnnie B. "Dusty" Baker, Jr.is an American Major League Baseball manager and former player. He is currently the manager for the Washington Nationals. He enjoyed a 19-year career as a hard-hitting outfielder, primarily with the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers. He helped the Dodgers to pennants in 1977 and 1978 and to the championship in 1981. He then enjoyed a 20-year career as a manager with the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and now Washington Nationals. He...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth15 June 1949
CityRiverside, CA
CountryUnited States of America
Right now, it's so early that you want to get rid of whatever is in there. I was always told you start the year hurt, it makes for a long year. We're trying to get rid of whatever is in there, get it well, get it subsided and hopefully get on with it.
No. 1, you have to make sure he's OK so this thing doesn't linger all year long. Fortunately for us, he did get some at-bats during the World Baseball Classic and the fact that he did pretty well shows he's not that far off. He saw better quality pitching in that than he would down here. It was to his advantage and ours that he did play.
No. 1, we've got to get back to .500. That's how it is. That's our first task.
One of the hardest things in this game is a fallen star. When a guy accepts the position that he's in in his career, it makes it easier on a manager and coaches and very beneficial to the guys on the team.
I was spoiled by some of the guys I had in the past, like Robby Thompson and Jeff Kent. I know the importance of that infield defense. There's more balls on the ground than in the air. Consequently, you have to play 'D' on the field.
I was talking to Michael about it -- it's an honor to be chosen to play for your country.
I was talking to (Giants coach) Mark Gardner the other night. He told me how much that did for the team, how much fun it was. The thing about Barry, he likes to have fun. He's always been that way. He just doesn't want you (the media) to see it.
Scott Eyre is a fun-loving guy, but the rest of the guys, especially the new guys we've got, they are all business.
So it can?t be good. There?s no way it can be good. It?s not good for our country. It?s not good for the game. It?s not good for your system, and it?s certainly not good for these kids. I?m definitely against them.
On a close play, you're going to do what feels most natural to you.
Some of it has to do with the fact that we have a strikeout pitching staff. I always liked my teams at the top of the league in defense and double plays. Any time you can get two outs on one pitch, it's a lot less pitches for your pitchers. A lot of times, it gets you out of the inning out of trouble.
Some of it depends on how healthy Todd's legs feel. He is still recuperating from last year. The hard ground down here puts pressure on your legs.
Missing almost the second half of the season last year really slowed his progress some. Skill-wise, he has the skill. We know that. It's just a matter of him playing and doing the little things. He works hard.
My feeling is that life supercedes everything. I haven't heard the severity of it, but I know it's not good. When you get to those things, how do you put a timetable on it?