Dusty Baker
Manager and future
Hall of Famer

Dusty Baker will be the first African American manager to carry two different teams to the National League Division Title Games. This year's Chicago Cubs re-entered the fall playoffs. But the Chicago Cubs once again failed to get to the World Series by one game; losing to the Florida Marlins. History has chronicled that teams managed by Dusty Baker fail to get into the World Series. Just missing the golden gooses egg by one game. Last week the Chicago Cubs had a commanding 3-1 game lead in the National League playoffs only needing one game to play The New York Yankees, The American League Champion. This World Series unfortunately will be played this year without Dusty Baker or The Chicago Cubs. If current history repeats itself The Chicago Cubs will have a very bright future under the leadership of Dusty Baker.

Johnnie B. Baker Jr. was born on June 15, 1949 in Riverside, California. He was born just three years after the last appearance of the Chicago Cubs in a World Series. The Chicago Cubs have not been back since. Baker wants to change this bizarre baseball fact before he retires. Dusty will get plenty of chances to get these Cubbies to the fall classic.

Dusty Baker attended the American Junior College in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. He played baseball whenever he could. Many scouts told him that he was a very fast outfielder and had good power, but needed to improve his basic batting skills.

Baker grew up in the multi-ethnic Bay Area. This life experience would help him and guide him in the future. He played minor league baseball in Richmond, California. Teams were segregated then. This meant that there were times when they would not travel together. Baker and his African American teammates had to sleep in the very seedy of town. Dusty said that dealing with segregation was the toughest part of his young baseball career. He also thought that it was so unfair that the black players had to find their own way to the ballpark. While transportation was provided for their white players. This made him a very bitter man. Change did not come for a long time, even while he played for the Atlanta Braves in 1968.

He played outfield his rookie year with the Atlanta Braves in the same outfield with Hammering Hank and watched the concluding years of Hank Aaron career in a Brave uniform. Hammering Hank taught Baker the fundamental baseball skills needed to propel Dusty Baker's Hall of Fame career. Then he was traded from one of the worst teams in baseball to the Los Angeles Dodgers, which is considered one of the best teams in baseball history 1974-89. This made him work even harder and helped him to understand the game of baseball. The Dodgers were at the end of the Western Division strangle hold on the National League. Being a playing member of the Los Angeles Dodgers made him mature and play as a team member not just another black player. He realized that it took all 30 players to win a championship. This living and learning experience would come into play later on in his life when he would become manager of The San Francisco Giants.

Dusty Baker ended his professional playing career in the Bay Area playing for both The San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics. He culminated his 19 year baseball career as a player-coach for both The Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants. Once again he watched, listened, and learned from one of the masters of coaching: Oakland's, Tony LaRussa. When Baker became manager of the San Francisco Giants in 1993 he combined everything he had previously learned during his baseball career. Lessons taught by Hank Aaron (Braves), Tommy Lasorda (Dodgers), and LaRussa (Oakland) were put in a package called "Baker Ball", Baker Ball was very simple. You had to get the run in with intelligent base path speed and fundamental baseball work. It simply meant that a player had to get and single or double, then the next batter had to work, moving the runner to the next base with sacrifice fly or bunt, thus making it possible to score with single or fly ball to outfield. This was Baker Ball.

Baker Ball also included unity in the clubhouse no matter what color the players were, the team matter more. Baker instilled this philosophy in every one of his teams The Giants became winners year after year under his guidance. Now the Cubs will follow Dusty's magic hands. Baker was concerned about his players being to communicate with the coaching staff and also that they be comfortable around other teammates. With this in mind, he hired a multi-cultured coaching staff and encouraged his staff to speak in the native tongue of the players. To give you an example: He hired Wendell Kim (Asian American). Baker spoke Spanish fluently and communicated with his Latin players well.

Baker had the personal skills to intervene in the annual summer feuds with outfielder Barry Bonds and second basemen Jeff Kent. Two Giant players just did not get along. Baker should be considered the poster child for diversity because of the way he takes control of his teams.

Baker became Manager of the Year as a rookie year in San Francisco and subsequently became Manager of the Year two more times while with the Giants. He could become Manager of the Year, this year for the fourth time. This time it will be with the mediocre Chicago team overachieving to win the National League's Central Division.

He guided the Giants to three Western Division Titles and one National League Title. He has six, ninety win seasons, including this one with the Chicago Cubs. He will become the first African American to take two different teams to Divisional Titles, The San Francisco Giants and the Chicago Cubs. History may record Baker as one who earned 1,000 victories in record time. He now has 930 this year and should pass 1, 000 with just 70 Chicago Cubs victories his 11th year of coaching.

Here's wishing Dusty Baker luck with the Chicago Cubs. We all hope that he will be the first African American to lead two different teams to the World Series. At this current date there are only three African American managers in baseball. Frank Robinson, in a caretaker position in Montreal. Frank Robinson has used his brainpower to make this team north of the boarder overachieve the last two years.

Lloyd McClendon of the under-achieving Pittsburgh Pirates may have a very large and difficult feat to change this team under the current poor financial condition of the Pirates.

There are three more bright African American male stars waiting in wings to try their hand at managing a professional baseball team. The current New York Yankee third base coach Willie Randolph, The Baltimore Orioles current batting coach Eddie Murray and Bill Robinson of the Florida Marlins better known as the first base coach of the 1980-1990 New York Mets.

But right now we celebrate the accomplishments of Johnnie B Baker. A man only one-step away from history. He is also making a lot of new Chicago Cubs fans everyday with his outstanding managerial skills, that list now includes me.

THAT IS THE GRAYLINE