Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker took another step toward the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday by becoming the 12th head coach in major league history to reach 2,000 career wins.
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The 72-year-old saw his squad beat the Seattle Mariners 4-0 in front of a cheering crowd at Minute Maid Park, where several spectators chanted his last name after the game. If it’s any reassurance to his admirers, the former head coach of the Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals has passed a milestone that virtually guarantees his place in Cooperstown: aside from Bruce Bochy (not yet eligible) and Baker, all other members of the “2000 Club” have been inducted.
“I am now in a select group including some of the greatest elite managers to have worked in the sport,” he said, according to comments reported by the daily “Houston Chronicle”. It is a demanding field. Leading people is hard.”
“I was the luckiest person in the world to have found myself in the presence of the greatest, on the field and outside, added the former outfielder who totaled 19 campaigns as a player in the big leagues. I am probably one of the most privileged among men to have walked this earth.”
A first
Baker can also boast of being the first black to count 2,000 winnings as manager of major league baseball, a feat for which he remains grateful to those who helped him, but also to his predecessors.
“I think of the people who made this possible, for me to be in this position: my father, Jackie Robinson, Frank Robinson, Cito Gaston as well as all the people from minorities who worked as managers before me, a-t- pointed it out at MLB.com. Look at guys like Maury Wills and some I know. In my eyes, everyone makes a bigger deal of it than me, because I still have work to do.”
However, despite his daily occupations which remain well in his mind, the fact remains that the feat is worthy of mention.
“I think a bit like when Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run, we want to put that behind us to focus on our day-to-day business, said the one who was in the waiting circle when the legend of the Braves Atlanta overtook Babe Ruth as the top long-pitch hitter in the majors on April 8, 1974. I couldn’t have done that on my own, since you’re only as good as your players. This would have been impossible without the staff we have in the shelter. I supported them a lot and they helped me.”
“We are a whole and it’s probably the most united group I’ve been in, especially in a short period like this. I think of my mother, my father, my brothers and sisters. Thank God for giving me this opportunity,” he added.
Baker is three wins behind Bochy and the 11th most successful coach in history. The Astros met again with the Mariners on Wednesday before a four-game home streak against the Detroit Tigers.