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
I'm not a guy that sits around and does nothing.
We want to get him in the position to give him the best chance to make the club. He worked hard last winter. We know he can help this club. I can tell he's helping some of the young guys and the veteran guys about how to go about their business and how to play this game.
You hate to have a guy have back problems, then he starts changing his arm angle and compensating for it and you end up hurting something else. His teammates, they really convinced me he had had enough.
You guys are asking me stuff that he's not even answering.
You get a good setup man and sooner or later someone is going to want him as a closer. You got a good middle guy and you or somebody is going want him to be a setup man. You see bullpen guys move in this game more than any other players.
You'd think he's left-handed when you watch him throw. He's one of the best athletes I've been around. People are surprised when they see him run. This guy can fly.
Big weekend for Sean, Jerome and Glendon. We have to get some guys going and preserve our bullpen. The better our starters can be, the better for all of us.
Baseball's not separate from the world. (Racism) is real. Nobody wants to talk about it. You don't hear guys talk in depth too much, especially minority guys, because you get accused of playing the race card.
We want to win. I always want to win. It's a big year for all of us, a big year for the organization, a big year for the city, a big year for the staff, me, different guys on the team. There's no more pressure than usual.
We have a couple of guys already in the process of being developed. You just have to choose one that's the best, and...
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.
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 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.