HOUSTON —
He’s spent 24 years as a Major League Baseball manager, but Astros skipper Dusty Baker is still in search of that World Series title.
Will 2021 with the Houston Astros be his year?
Houston is playing in the World Series against the Braves, and as of Friday, he and his team were three wins away from something that’s eluded him as a manager for nearly a quarter-century.
Baker has had a solid career as a manager in the bigs, leading all five teams he’s coached -- the San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs and now the Astros – to the playoffs. He’s won a division with all five and managed in a World Series in both the National League and now the American League.
He’s also been Manager of the Year three times – 1993, 1997 and 2000.
Baker joined the Astros in 2019 after the team fired A.J. Hinch in the wake of the sign-stealing scandal.
He played in the Majors for 19 seasons, a career that started at the age of 19 with the Braves, the team he’s facing this year in the World Series. He was teammates with the great Hank Aaron on that Braves team.
If he does win a title with the Astros, it will be the crowning achievement in the 72-year-old Baker’s coaching career. And it might be the last, too. His contract is up after this season, according to CBS Sports, and it could mean going out on the highest of notes for the beloved Houston manager.