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
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.
At this point, it's hard to imagine him not pitching forever.
We had a hard time holding up our end of the bargain.
I'd like to see him play again to help us win and help him get 100 RBIs. We'll see. He's working harder now than ever.
I'd like to see him play again to help us win and help him get 100 RBIs, ... We'll see. He's working harder now than ever.
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.
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.
He's healthy. Sometimes he's not swinging well and other times he runs into some hard luck. It's a combination. I can see him getting frustrated. He needs one or two days and he'll get rolling.
He's doing pretty well. We feel very fortunate. It could've been a lot, lot worse. I guess Michael has a hard head.
You learn the hard way then. We had a long discussion last night. The thing about temperament, which you guys don't believe, but I was very similar. You have to constantly work on it as a person.
We didn't have our team, No. 1. A lot of times you get new guys and they have a hard time adjusting to Chicago initially.
His main thing is he's trying so hard he's not swinging at strikes. They're not getting him out, he's getting himself out. I've talked to him about it. When they come in the zone, he's not far from it. It's like fishing. You got to get that first one in the boat, everything is cool after that.
I'm looking for health, I'm looking for bat speed, I'm looking for leg speed. It's hard to compare a youngster to a veteran player in Spring Training. The advantage always goes to the young player. There are some things I'm looking for. You want to see progress as spring goes on. I've got a pretty good idea of what he can do. I'm looking for what's left.
Back in our day, they called this 'salary drive,' ... Try and continue to have a good year and win as many games as you can win. You are playing for respectability right now. What I'm looking for is you play hard and play for love of the game and respect and try to finish as high as you can.