After 26 seasons as a Major League Baseball Manager, Little League® Hall of Excellence enshrinee Dusty Baker has announced his retirement.
A graduate of Riverside (Calif.) Little League, Mr. Baker was inducted into the Little League Hall of Excellence in 2007. After his time on the Little League field, Mr. Baker spent 19 years playing on Major League fields and won a World Series championship with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1981.
After 26 seasons, Dusty Baker made his retirement official today. Congratulations on an incredible career, Skip! pic.twitter.com/TBpDS48KOg
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 26, 2023
While Mr. Baker is finishing his managerial career with the Houston Astros – announcing his retirement at the Astros home field following their playoff run – his more than 25-year long career was also spent with the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and the Washington Nationals. Mr. Baker won his first World Series as a manager with the Astros in 2022.
In that same season, Mr. Baker and his son Darren Baker – a graduate of Loomis-Eureka Lakeside Little League in Granite Bay, California – experienced a memorable moment. During a Spring Training game between the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals, Dusty was met at home plate by Darren, who was a Nationals’ prospect at the time, to exchange lineups.
Mr. Baker finishes his managerial career with 2,183 wins in the regular season, the seventh-most in history. He has also won, as a manager, division titles with five different teams. While Mr. Baker says he is not sure what is next in his career, he says he still wants to remain involved with the Major Leagues in some capacity, continuing a nearly 50-year long career in professional baseball.
To learn more about Mr. Baker and various other Little League alumni who have gone on to outstanding careers both in professional baseball and in other professional sports and careers, visit LittleLeague.org/Alumni.