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
Sometimes he has great command of the strike zone, and the next time ... It's a matter of being more consistent. He is throwing the ball good.
We executed that cutoff play perfectly. That was a very athletic play. That ball went into the gap, and it was obvious that they were going to send him. It was a perfect hop, a perfect throw and a perfect tag.
We couldn't get the ball down today. The ball was up and the location wasn't where he wanted it. Power hitters -- when you get the ball up and over the heart of the plate -- you're going to get hurt.
Guys are throwing the ball well. We've just got to cut down on the walks. It seems like we walk somebody and they score.
He's a ballplayer. These are things a ballplayer does -- they run the bases well, they hit well, they throw, they throw to the right base, they steal a base. I think we're very fortunate to get such a talent at such a low price.
I don't doubt that this guy is smart enough to do anything that he really wants to do. I don't know if he was quite pitching to the ballpark . . . and if you ask him he probably wouldn't tell you anyway.
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 have learned from hamstrings that when a guy says he feels good, you give him a couple extra days. Invariably, you top a ball and have to beat it out. It happens every time.
For a while it didn't look too good because we were hitting the ball hard and on the nose, but right at people. We scored when we had to and the bullpen did a good job.
It's one of the best trades you don't make. Walker made some fine defensive plays tonight. He's hitting the ball outstanding.
The ball kept coming over the heart of the plate. It was supposed to be outside and it caught too much of the plate. He threw a lot of pitches (105) in a short period of time.
The ball is flying out of this ballpark, and ordinarily it doesn't. It's strange for here.
A couple of balls caught too much of the plate early, ... but we were still in the ballgame. We ended up giving away 4 runs on defense. You can't give away runs in the big leagues, and we didn't play very good defense today.
A couple balls caught too much of the plate early. We were still in the ballgame, and we ended up giving away like four runs on defense. You can't give away runs in the big leagues. We didn't play very good defense today.