The Astros' World Series victory was dedicated to Baker's mother and father. There is a time and a place for this. Baker says that faith is the soul of the human race. He thinks so. He likes the sound of the waves crashing on the beach in Kauai. He believes in his family, which has supported him throughout his career as a baseball team manager. The moment he gives up on his players, what's left, he believes in himself, even after all these could'ves and should'ves. Baker is the truest of believers, steadfast, and for much of his magnificent baseball life, his faith in men, is the result of countless hours learning who they are, what they do, and why they play this game. Even though he'd never managed a team to a World Series victory, Baker never paid attention to the criticism. Had he listened to those who harped more on the few games he lost than the many he won, he wouldn't have walked into the Astros' locker room. We're going to get it. He believed it as well as he believed in all the other things. rationality and greatness are often at odds because he expects to win all the time. Saturday was the day they didn't. The excellence of Baker's Astros found itself on a crash course with the most logical outcome: that they would dispose of the plucky Philadelphia Phils. Saturday was the day that the Astros won their second World Series title, and it was also the first time that Baker wasn't haunted by the scandal that brought him here. "I knew it was going to happen sooner or later," Baker said as he slipped on a gray championship shirt. It has to happen if you stay around long enough. It is not that simple. The oldest manager to win a World Series was 73 years old. He was the first manager to guide five different organizations to the playoffs, and he had won 2,093 regular-season games. He didn't get to manage in the 2002 and 2021 World Series because he wasn't good enough, but he did get to play in the 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers' championship. He was summoned in 2020 to shepherd a team that had fired its manager and general manager after it was revealed that the Astros cheated during their previous championship season. The Astros were booed and hated everywhere else, even though they were supported fanatically in Houston. The team's reputation was not separated from Baker's. He was a big fan of the Astros and was able to temper the negative vibes. He did a great job in his role as a pop psychologist. He wouldn't allow that to define their future. They would come up with a new idea. It isn't possible to erase the past, but it is possible to show that this organization is more than a trash can used to relay oncoming pitch types. In a world where narratives glue themselves to stories, Baker was going to write a competing one that would change the perspective of the Astros. Alex Bregman is one of five remaining Astros from the last season. He has been an amazing human being, just on a personal level, with every single person in our club. He likes to play baseball. He has devoted his life to this game. He's deserving of it. The come-from-behind World Series win was not an accident, according to Baker. It felt like fate and destiny and kismet underpinned his victory. The leadoff hitter for the opposing team in Baker's first game as manager in 1993 was Geronimo Pea, whose son, Jeremy, won the World Series with the Astros. It was happenstance that the Astros, supported by a fan base that shared Baker's faith, became the first team to win a World Series at home in five years. It might be possible. Maybe not. It was poetic, because it might not have been possible without him sticking to his principles, or relying on trusted hitters despite their deep struggles. Baker's downfall was presaged by his lack of faith. It won him a title. His players are free to do what they want. The Astros were allowed to be the best version of themselves. The Astros hitters met in the batting cage at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The Astros starter was tagged for a World Series-record five long balls by the Philadelphia's lineup. The Astros lost Game 3 of the World Series by a score of 0-7 and Michael Brantley refused to be embarrassed. Before news of the scandal broke, Brantley re-signed with the Astros, and fans returned to the ballparks. Brantley listens a lot more than he talks. Brantley has spent the past four months on the injured list with a shoulder injury, but that hasn't diminished his standing in the locker room. He showed up quickly and with a compliment. Brantley wanted the hitters to gather in the cage, but he didn't want to give either. The hitting coaches left before the meeting started because Brantley was so angry. The players had to hear what Brantley was saying. Brantley said that the Astros were going to lose the World Series if something didn't change, just as the Nationals and Braves did. He said that they needed to play their brand of baseball in the third game of the series. No more thinking you know what's going to happen. Losing is no longer happening. During a 17-minute rain delay in the ninth and 10th of the World Series, the Chicago Cubs outfielder gave a speech that inspired the team to win the title. Brantley was an outfielder for the Indians who were the Cubs' opponent. He had been on three teams that had lost the World Series. He wouldn't accept a fourth. Brantley told the team that he was sick of hugging. Immediately, the response was received. The Astros were ready to run through the wall. He's someone I've admired a lot. It's the model of consistency. His words weigh a lot. It was a big deal to us. It made the series better. The Astros won the title for the second time in three years. An icon was replaced by Jeremy Pea.
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Word of Brantley's soliloquy spread quickly. During the season, they helped the team as leadoff hitter Jose Altuve and Yordan lvarez struggled. They twirled a combined no-hitter in the fourth game of the series.
Brantley said four days later that he didn't like how the team responded in the third game. We didn't respond after they hit Lance. They didn't use their main weapons when we got in. We didn't do what we were supposed to. We made it more difficult. If we stuck together, did what we do, and played our way, that's all that mattered. I wanted to make it clear that's the case.
I went to bed that night thinking about what I thought was happening. I had to get it done after I woke up. It was necessary for me to say it.
Brantley was the player of the game for the game in which he did not play.
Altuve said that the speech was the best he had ever been a part of. We won three in a row after he met us.
Baseball clubs are fragile enough to break at the first sign of tension. The Astros were a cause for concern when Baker took over. Being an Astro was a bonding experience for the team. Brantley had learned from the best and knew where his homily would fall on the fine line between leadership and overstepping.
Baker said that he could do whatever he wanted. I'm not joking. I have a lot of faith in Brantley. He's going to let them know the right thing.
On the afternoon of Game 6 at Minute Maid Park, he ran into Altuve and was given some encouragement by the person he ran into. According to Altuve's father, the Astros would win the title that night. Bregman told him the same thing when he entered the club. Baker said hello to the big guy. Today, you are the man. The proclamations made him jittery. lvarez decided on a different feeling.
He said that all these things gave him peace.
lvarez would give anything for peace over the last 20 days. After hitting two home runs in the first two games of the playoffs, the 25-year-old was in one of the worst stretches of his career. lvarez was hoping that Baker would keep him in the third hole.
His daughter was turning 4 on Sunday, and he had a birthday party to attend, so he arrived at the stadium with a desire to end this series quickly. By the time of his third at-bat, Kyle Schwarber had given the Phils the lead in the top of the sixth with a home run. After the beginning of a rally in the bottom of the first, Wheeler was taken out of the game by Rob Thomson.
"I needed to give a gift to my family, my daughter," lvarez said, and he intended to do so with an adjustment he had made after his first two at bats: get his front foot down more quickly." A 98.9 mph sinker was thrown over the middle of the plate by lvarez after three pitches outside the strike zone. The ball went over the batter's eye and gave the Astros a 3-1 lead.
Yordan Alvarez hits a three-run home run over the wall in center field to give the Astros a 3-1 lead over thePhillies.
There was a line of back pats and head slaps as teammates met lvarez near home plate. The man who was part of the first known high-five in 1977 arrived at the far end, where he delivered the winning swing to lvarez.
For all the times that his managerial maneuvers still register as head-scratchers, he tends to nail the small things that feel big.
Before Game 3 of the ALCS, Baker stopped at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York and bought a string of rosary beads for the struggling Roberto Mancini. The Astros hope to add a bat off the bench with the acquisition of the Orioles' Mancini. He went hitless in his first six playoff at-bats after flourishing in his first two weeks with the team. He was hitless in his first 18 at-bats before finally getting a hit in Game 6, but he made a game-saving play in Game 5 when he was called on to man first base in the ninth.
"He said for anyone who was going through it, I felt like you should have this rosary," said Mancini, who still had it in his backpack. That was a big deal to me. It gave me confidence.
Through a long stretch in the ALDS and ALCS, Altuve and the Astros relied on their run-prevention skills, despite the struggles of the other players. Houston's championship run was a perfect example of the no-hitter. In one of the most flaccid offensive playoffs since the expansion of the playoffs in 1969 -- players as a whole hit.211/.283/.358 -- the Astros posted a 2.29 pitchers' earned run average. Five earned runs were allowed in 5413 hours by the relief team.
They did not need a pep talk.
Support was all they needed. Baker was happy to provide the latter. In the fifth game of the World Series, Verlander faced a problem. Baker didn't summon hisvaunted pen to face Castellanos, instead he stayed with Verlander to faceHarper. With the count 2-2, Castellanos fouled off three pitches, took another for ball three, spoiled one more, and finally swung through a full-count pitch to score the tying and go-ahead runs for Verlander.
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There was a larger and more emotional embrace after Kyle Tucker squeezed a Castellanos fly ball in foul territory for the final out of Game 6. Baker was busy filling out the last box on his scorecard. He was surrounded by a mass of humanity as the Astros' coaching staff surrounded him. The man is named "Dusty!" The man is named "Dusty!".
Altuve said it was amazing to be able to make this happen. I don't know if it means more or less, but we are all really, really happy, and what I can tell you is every single guy deserves everything that's happening." We didn't care about anything. We wanted to win games. I think that's the reason we're here.
The same number was put up by Altuve this year as he did last year. Baker first earned Altuve's support, then his trust and finally his full backing, as even during that 0-for-25 postseason slump, Baker refused to drop him from the leadoff spot.
Altuve saidDusty was a perfect fit for them. I'm overjoyed for him. He won the World Series for the entire city.
As the month of August approaches James Click, who was hired shortly after Baker and replaced Jeff Luhnow, the man who oversaw the construction of the group that has reached the ALCS six years in a row, was looking for a bat before the 2 trade deadline. Click hadn't pulled off the kind of headline- grabbing deal Luhnow made annually toward the end of his tenure. It was the right time.
According to four sources familiar with the deal, the Astros and Cubs were in agreement on a trade that would send Willson Contreras to the Astros. The straight up trade was approved by the owner. That wasn't approved.
According to sources, relationships outside of the Astros' locker room soured during the team's pursuit of a regular-season win total. Crane took a more hands-on role in baseball operations after paying a record $5 million fine for the cheating scandal. First baseman Jeff Bagwell was a new voice. Click tried to execute the trade for Contreras, a pending free agent who is not regarded as a good defensive catcher but would've ably filled the hole at designated hitter that plagued the Astros during the playoffs, but another prominent name let his opposition be known.
Baker said thatUrquidy was one of the best pitchers of that era. He wasn't going to complain about not playing every day. This is his year of free agency. That is difficult. It's when you trade for a free agent. I can't fault them for their obsession with numbers and stuff. That isn't what we needed.
We are already looking ahead to the next season. The rankings are early in the 20th century.
The general manager's and manager's ambitions cohere. When Click's and Baker's contracts expired in the same season, it showed how important it was for both of them to stay. It made sense for the Astros to trade Urquidy, a right-handed pitcher with three years of team control remaining until he reaches free agency. Crane -- who when asked for comment walked into the locker room that was closed off to reporters -- disagreed and spiked the deal, only furthering widespread concerns among front-office members that despite maintaining the Astros' success, Click's return is not guaranteed. Click didn't say anything.
On the same day as the championship parade in Houston, Crane was going to address Click and Baker's future. He said that Baker spoke for 212 hours in their first meeting. There were a lot of similarities between us.
Crane said that they needed a guy with a lot of experience and a lot of composure.
The Astros needed a lot more than that. They traded for closer Roberto Osuna even though he had been accused of domestic violence, and an assistant GM was fired for taunting female reporters after he blew a save in the ALCS. The scandal, the firings of Luhnow and Hinch, and the aftermath.
Click is similar to Baker in stabilizing the front office. After Luhnow decimated the team's scouting operation, he expanded it. He gave bigger roles to Bryan Abreu, who was drafted that year, and Hunter Brown, who was drafted that year, in addition to building Houston's monstrous relief corps. After the Contreras trade fell apart, his deadline deals for Mancini and Vazquez paid off.
The foundation was not disturbed by Click. According to Baseball America, the Astros' World Series roster boasted 15 players who debut with them and never wear another uniform, the most of any team this century. The two left-handed pitchers who won Games 2 and 6 signed for $10,000 each. The center fielder who made the game-saving catch in the ninth was a 21st -round pick. The Astros have success on their roster.
After riding a No. 6 seed all the way to the World Series, Philly's run comes to an end with a Game 6 loss in Houston.
The playoffs have been dominated by BryceHarper.
It's better to be bold in Philadelphia.
What's now is represented by the Astros. In the draft, they hit. They find talent in other countries. They get better. Stats and scouting are combined. They live in a new school. They are balanced and didn't teeter over in the wake of their greatest shame.
Just as they recognize Baker's influence, warmly and assuredly, players know the impact of this front office. They see signs in the stands, like the one Saturday that read: WE <3>
"Click took a job in a tough spot and did a great job with our team, butDusty's going to get a lot of the attention, but I think he has done a great job with our team," he said. He's added pieces that we need. It was just a small gesture of thanks for the work he's done here.
After Tucker recorded the 27th out of Game 6, Baker left his office and headed out. He wore cargo pants and a shirt. He posed for a few final pictures, including one with the president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the vice president of communications.
Baker strode through the double doors, hooking a left and heading towards the parking lot. The security worker asked for a hat. She talked to Baker's wife, who said he might have something for her. Baker's smile kept on smiling. He reached into his bag and gave her a new cap.
The 2002 World Series and 2003 National League Championship Series had Game 6 bugaboos. Two of the most promising pitchers of their generation, Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, withered under Baker's use. A few minutes earlier, Bregman had disclosed that he had broken a finger on an eighth-inning slide into second, adding to a list of injuries that include Gurriel's knee and Altuve'sham. After the game, Bregman told Brantley that he, Yuli and Altuve would not be in the lineup.
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There is a story.
The only thing that mattered was the Astros' victory. The present was gilded thanks to Baker.
Baker told another group of workers that he would see them on Monday.
One person said that they hadCongratulations.
Baker said see y'all. "You're going to see me later."
One said, "All right, coach!"
A third asked if I could get a picture.
Why wouldn't you? When he became the third black manager to win a World Series, Baker never took for granted the privilege of his life. He would pose if the price was posing for a few photos. Even though the sport pivoted away from what he knew, he stayed in baseball for more than 50 years. He didn't lose the sense of who he is after he evolved with it.
Baker said that if you aren't true to yourself, you don't like yourself. I don't know what else I can do.
Even when he was scapegoated and fired, he always kept walking, plowing ahead. Baseball returned. All of Baker's teams won at least one title.
A woman asked if she could get a photo. My dad was a big fan of you.
She wondered if Baker's five acres in Kauai or his vineyard in California would catch his attention if he came back in 2023.
Baker didn't know. We will see.
He went to his car. The parking attendants hoped that Baker would come back next year. He needed to go to Potente, the restaurant owned by Crane, for the after party, where he would soak in the afterglow of the championship that was finally his. It was time to figure out what life was like when faith was rewarded.
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