Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker has told people he plans to retire following the team’s elimination in the 2023 American League Championship Series, according to a report from The Athletic.
Baker told reporters after the Astros’ loss to the Texas Rangers in Game 7 of the ALCS that he would take some time away to think about whether to return next season. But per The Athletic’s report, he has already told multiple people inside and outside the Astros organization that the 2023 season will be his last as a manager.
Baker is one of the most decorated managers in baseball history and finally earned his long-awaited World Series ring in 2022 when the Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies. He is the seventh-winningest manager in MLB history and the total wins leader among active managers, with 2,183 victories in his career. He became the oldest head coach in all four major North American professional sports leagues to win a championship when he did so last year.
Baker just completed his 26th season as an MLB manager, having previously led the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals — reaching the postseason at least once with all five teams he managed. He at least reached the ALCS in all four seasons with the Astros, and if he does retire, he would leave as the second-winningest manager in Astros history.
According to The Athletic, multiple people Baker has confided in think he wants to remain active in baseball in some capacity. Baker has a home on the West Coast and his son Darren — once the Giants’ batboy when his father was the team’s manager — is now an infielder in the Nationals’ farm system.
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