Dusty Baker is back on top

Posted on September 2, 2010

Manager Dusty Baker #12 of the Cincinnati Reds gets ready in the dugout before the game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park on August 9, 2009 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

 

One of the best stories in Major League Baseball this season is the spectacular season the Cincinnati Reds are having. Sitting atop the National League Central standings with a 78-55 record the Reds hold an 8-game lead over the second place St. Louis Cardinals. The main reason? Johnnie B. “Dusty” Baker. Dusty has led a team of talented young players to the best record of any ball club to play along the Cincinnati riverfront in over a decade. This is no surprise to those of us in the Bay Area who have followed Dusty’s managerial career since he made his debut with the San Francisco Giants in 1993.

I have so many memories of Dusty as a player, first as Henry Aaron’s teammate in Atlanta, and later as a slugging left fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers who had so many big hits against the Giants. And who could forget Dusty’s leap in vain over the chain-link left field fence at Candlestick Park on May 28, 1978 as he tried to snare Mike Ivie’s grand slam on Jacket Day?

Fast-forward to the magical 1993 season at The Stick when Dusty led the Giants to 103 victories in his first year of piloting the orange and black, and you could tell that Dusty had a special way with his players. He also had a way with everyone else at the ballpark from security guards and grounds keepers to opposing players. I watched this behavior from opening day in 1993 (when the Grateful Dead sang the National Anthem) till the heartbreaking final game of that season at Dodger Stadium when they lost the Western Division flag by one game to the Atlanta Braves.

Besides being a solid manager who won the National league’s Manager of the Year Award in his first season with the Giants (1993), Dusty quickly became one of my favorite people to photograph, and that continues to this day. Dusty has a great face and is not afraid to show his emotions. The way he interacts with his players, watches a game from the dugout, and argues with umpires always makes for a good picture.

Dusty had a very successful run here in San Francisco, but between having to deal with Barry Bonds every day and meddling ownership things got ugly in 2002, and after they lost the World Series to the Angels there was no way he would be able to come back and manage the Giants in 2003. There were too many bad feelings on both sides, and it was probably good for everyone that he left to manage the Chicago Cubs. After coming one game from leading the Cubs to the World Series in 2003 things continually go worse for Dusty in Chicago and he found himself out of baseball a few years later, doing television work and spending more time with his family.

A few years ago Dusty got back into baseball when the Reds asked him to be their manager, and after a few down seasons they have come on strong this year and are a joy to watch. They hit the crap out of the ball, they pitch well, and they play hard for their skipper. Best of all we had a chance to see Dusty twice this season in the Bay Area as the Reds played in both Oakland and San Francisco. Dusty has mellowed as he has become older and he seems to love coming back to his northern California home, where so many people still love him. I enjoy getting the chance to see Dusty and shake his hand every time I see him, and I hope I have that chance again in October as he leads the Reds into the post season. Dusty has always been the coolest guy in the room, wherever he is. The post-season will be that much cooler with the Reds joining the party.