The New York Mets manager search is back open after the organization parted ways with Carlos Beltran. One of the candidates drawing a lot of attention is the long-time veteran manager Dusty Baker.
Text from one NL exec: if Dusty Baker "has the desire to manage Hou or NYM, he will win the division hands down."
— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) January 16, 2020
Baker has managed four different franchises and has won everywhere he has gone. His career record is 1863-1636 to go along with 22 years of experience managing along with 19 years spent as a player. If the Mets are looking for expertise from a manager, it does not get any better than Baker.
Playoff Success?
The one knock on Baker has always been his inability to reach a World Series Championship. For his ten 90-win seasons, he only has one pennant to show for it. His 23-32 postseason record taints his three manager of the year awards. Baker has not made it to a league championship series since 2003 with the Cubs.
I’ll admit a heavy bias here and I’m glad I’m not reporting on the topic, but baseball is just better when Dusty Baker is in it.
— T.J. Quinn (@TJQuinnESPN) January 16, 2020
Each of his jobs has left sour tastes in the respective fanbases mouths. All four teams he managed have playoff series end where they had two games to close out a series and could not win either game. Baker is also 4-9 in win or go home games.
Focus On the Positives
Baker is a manager who gets it. There is no situation he has not managed before. Baker’s current streak of four consecutive 90 win seasons is intact despite managing two different teams. The only managers to do that in the last decade are Dave Roberts, Joe Maddon, and Joe Girardi (if you carry over the 2009 season). Baker sits between the hall of fame manager Bill McKechnie, and future hall of famer Lou Piniella on the all-time manager wins list.
The combination of the imperfect manager and franchise known for chaos could be a match made in heaven. Both sides have been longing for a World Series championship, and for both, this is their best shot. At age-70, it will likely be a one-year stay for Baker unless both sides are satisfied with what happens in year one.
If the Mets bring in Baker, the expectations should be at the same level, if not higher, than they were when Beltran took the job. He has managed many different teams to winning season, and there is more talent on this roster than on any he has managed in his 22 seasons.