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On Thursday, Dusty Baker, 74, confirmed his retirement at a press conference following his fourth season managing the Houston Astros.
His squad came one win shy of reaching the World Series for a third straight year with a loss to the Texas Rangers on Monday night in Game 7 of the AL Championship Series.
Dusty Baker retires as a MLB legend
Known for a toothpick and wise words, Baker concluded his legendary career ranked ninth all-time with 2,183 victories in 4,046 regular-season games.
He was the 12th manager in major league history to reach 2,000 wins and the first Black man to do it.
Ten of the other 11 managers who have accumulated at least 2,000 wins are in the Hall of Fame. Bruce Bochy (2,093), who is still managing the Rangers and isn’t yet eligible, is the only exception.
Baker began managing in 1993 after a 19-year playing career as an outfielder.
He played with Hank Aaron in Atlanta and won a World Series with the Dodgers in 1981.
Baker said Thursday that attending Aaron’s funeral in 2021 was an eye-opening experience for him.
“All these people were talking about how Hank had contributed and helped out their college education and affected this life and that life,” Baker said. “I came back home and told my wife, ‘I don’t feel like I’ve done anything.’
“I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I know it’s going to be good, whatever it is. I believe that.”
He has also won the National League Manager of the Year Award three times (1993, 1997, and 2000).
Baker managed San Francisco, the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati and Washington before coming to Houston.
With his 2,000th managerial victory on May 22, 2022, Baker became the first Black manager to reach this milestone. He was also just the 12th manager in MLB history to accomplish that feat.