An MLB manager has reached a major milestone. On Tuesday night, the Houston Astros defeated the Seattle Mariners 4-0 and in doing so, Astros manager Dusty Baker won his 2,000th career game. Baker, 72, becomes the 12th manager and first Black manager to reach that mark.
“I think about the people that made it possible for me to get in this position – my dad, Jackie Robinson, Frank Robinson, Cito Gaston – the guys who were minority managers ahead of me,” Baker said after the game, per MLB.com. “You look at guys like Maury Wills and some of the guys that I know. To me, everybody is making a bigger thing out of it than me because I’ve got work to do.”
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Baker is on his way to the Baseball Hall of Fame as 10 of the 12 managers who have reached 2,000 wins are in Cooperstown, New York. The only one who isn’t is Bruce Boche who is not eligible for the Hall of Fame yet. Baker is happy to reach 2,000 wins, but now he’s ready to move on.
“I just think like Hank Aaron when he hit 715, you just want to get it over with so we can go on about our business,” Baker said. “I couldn’t have done this by myself because you’re only as good as your players,” Baker said. “I couldn’t have done it without the cast we have in the clubhouse. I supported them big time. They supported me.
“We’re a unit, and this is probably the most together team I’ve been on, especially in a short period of time like this, to see them come together. I think of my mom and dad and brothers and sisters, and most of all I thank God for giving me the opportunity.”
Baker began as a manager in 1993 as a member of the San Francisco Giants. He went on to manage the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals and Astros. Baker has won NL Manager of the Year three times (1993, 1997 and 2000) and has led two different teams to the World Series (Giants in 2002 and Astros in 2021). Baker was also an MLB player from 1968 to 1986. He was selected to the All-Star team twice as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers and helped the team win a World Series in 1981.
