Dusty Baker Reveals Clash with Astros Leadership Over World Series Lineups

Soon, Dusty Baker, the former Houston Astros manager, will be in Cooperstown.

He restored the franchise’s credibility after the sign-stealing scandal erupted in 2019. He led the Astros back to the World Series in 2021 and to their second World Series title in 2022. For Baker, it was the culmination of a long managerial career in which a championship ring was the only thing missing.

These days, he’s a special assistant to the San Francisco Giants. His 2,183 managerial wins is eighth on the all-time list. He’s one of the rare baseball people that has a World Series title as a player and as a manager. He won a ring as a player with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1981.

But now, in a new book, he detailed how he crafted lineups in the 2022 World Series that ran counter to the wishes of Astros management.

How Dusty Baker Went Against Astros Leadership

Baker was interviewed for “Skipper: Why Baseball Managers Matter (and Always Will),” written by Scott Miller. Part of that interview was reported by the Houston Chronicle. In the book he talked about the experience of managing in the 2022 World Series. It was the second time in his career he managed in the Fall Classic. His first was in 2002 with the San Francisco Giants, a series they lost to the Los Angeles Angels.

During the 2022 World Series, Baker detailed how he and Astros management clashed over the lineup. The team’s leadership, led by general manager James Click, where pushing Baker to use players they acquired at the trade deadline, including Trey Mancini.

Baker, largely, stuck with the guys that had been with the team all year and the Astros won the World Series in six games over the Philadelphia Phillies.

“Nobody wanted Yuli Gurriel to play,” Baker said. “Nobody wanted Maldy (Martín Maldonado) to catch. The operations people didn’t want (Jeremy) Peña to bat second, either. But I’ve got to do what I think is right. You know, I’m a numbers man, too. I’ve always used numbers. Always.

“But I don’t used them 100 percent. There are no absolutes in this game, period. Whether I go with my feelings or whether I go with numbers, there are no absolutes because the opposition can change your absolute formula by a homer or blooper or walk or whatever it is.”

No one can argue that Baker’s decisions didn’t work. The Astros won a world championship. But it also lays bare the differences that can exist between old-school managers and new-school general managers that lean heavy into analytics.

The book also features an incredible note about Baker and Peña. Baker said he leaned into advice that he received from, of all people, late University of Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler. The advice was about seeing fear in players and it’s part of the reason why Peña played.

“He’s out there with the other young players, and, like Bo said, you can see fear, you can see anxiety, or you can see that the kid doesn’t have a scared bone in his body,” Baker said. “Or you can see is intelligence and you can see his heart. You can see it all by looking at his face.”

The Astros have two World Series and have Baker to thank for one of them — no matter what the brass thought of his decisions.