One-sixth of today's MLB teams have seen Dusty Baker take them to a division title. It that stat doesn't help his Hall of Fame case, I don't know what will.
On Thursday night, the Houston Astros defeated the AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays by the score of 3-2, becoming the champions of their own division in the process. It was the fourth time in the last five years that the Astros finished atop the AL West, with Baker doing so in just his second season — and first 162-game season — as the team's skipper. More impressively, though, it became the first time in league history that a manager has led five different franchises to a division title.
The Astros joined the Giants, Cubs, Reds and Nationals to win a division under Baker's guidance, though the longtime skipper says that this most recent victory came under the most difficult circumstances.
"Well, every one is special," Baker said (via MLB.com's Brian McTaggart). "This one is really special because of the negative vibes that we got from all over the world. Our fans here were great. It was so great to do it here at home. It’s very special, especially when I was called back out of retirement and got a great group of guys and a great team. These guys are so together. That’s what I like more than anything.
"...Every time you win, it ranks higher than the last time, and you never get tired of winning."
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Here's the list of all the teams that Baker has led to a division title, courtesy of Baseball Reference:
Incredibly, Baker's winningest season was his first — a 103-59 campaign with the Giants in 1993 — but they wound up finishing second in the division because of the alignment of the league at the time, with the Braves finishing first in the "West" with a 104-58 record.
While he's accomplished nearly everything a manager could want to accomplish, he's still chasing that elusive World Series championship. Perhaps the 2021 Astros can complete that dream for him and make his "greatest" year even greater.
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