Dusty Baker’s last game as an MLB manager might have occurred Monday night, when his Astros were crushed by the Rangers and eliminated in Game 7 of the ALCS.
The 74-year-old, who has been Houston’s manager since 2020 and has managed five total teams across 26 years, informed people the 2023 campaign would be his last, according to a report from The Athletic published after Texas’ 11-4 victory.
Baker reportedly didn’t want a farewell tour.
He also reportedly still could change his mind and told The Athletic he was “thinking about” retiring from the league he’d been involved with since the Braves drafted him in 1967 — though Baker could certainly join a team’s front office or the league’s staff, which his wife, Melissa, and others hinted at to the outlet.
“When he is done managing, I know he has a lot of knowledge to offer an organization,” Melissa told The Athletic. “I know he can help to build a winner. My husband just wants to win and is a winner.”
During his postgame press conference Monday at Minute Maid Park, a location where the Astros didn’t win a game across the entire ALCS, Baker didn’t provide much clarity on his future.
He hadn’t considered it yet, hadn’t given himself the space and time to think about that because the loss — the Astros’ quest for consecutive World Series titles falling short — was still fresh.
“I don’t want to steal the spotlight or anything from these guys,” Baker told reporters, according to The Athletic. “You got to savor what we did, think about how we can get better and then I’ll evaluate my situation in my life. And so, we will see.”
Baker’s managing career began in 1993 with the Giants, when San Francisco won 103 games to spark an 11-year run with the organization that included a World Series appearance — and loss — in 2002, which also marked his final season with the team.
He left for the Cubs in the offseason, and he managed four years in Chicago, six years in Cincinnati and two years in Washington before taking over the Astros in 2020 amid the aftermath of their cheating scandal.
But Baker helped stabilize them.
Sure, manager A.J. Hinch had been fired, and sure, general manager Jeff Luhnow was fired, too, as the complex cheating scandal from their 2017 World Series season was revealed.
But Baker led the Astros to the ALCS during the condensed 2020 season.
Then, the following year, they were back in the World Series.
And last season, when the Astros defeated the Phillies in the World Series, Baker became the oldest MLB manager to win a title.
When the Astros took a 3-2 series lead in the 2023 ALCS, it appeared Houston might have another World Series run for him to oversee.
But instead, when the Rangers stunned the Astros with consecutive victories, their latest postseason run might’ve ended as Baker’s farewell, too.
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