Dusty Baker's power struggle with Astros front office pretty much sums up departure

Dusty Baker stepped away from the game of baseball after the Houston Astros' 2023 season. Baker had taken the Astros to four consecutive appearances in the American League Championship Series and won his first ever World Series title with Houston in 2022.

Baker will be remembered as the manager who helped pull Houston out of the muck and mire of the Astros' sign-stealing scandal and brought some much needed honor and distinction back to the organization after its image was sullied in 2019.

Baker is now a studio analyst for TBS during the MLB Postseason, but recently took some time to join Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman on their podcast called "The Show". The two New York Post columnists asked some very poignant questions of Baker during the interview, and touched on the topic of how things ended in Houston.

Dusty Baker's power struggle with Astros front office pretty much sums up departure

Heyman credited Baker for his old-school approach of playing Martin Maldonado in key moments during the 2022 postseason despite his lack of offensive prowess, and also cited Jeremy Peña batting second in the Astros lineup during their championship run. Heyman then asked if health played a factor in Baker's decision to step down.

The former Astros skipper quickly shot that notion down. Baker said, "No. No, it wasn't health at all. I'm doing great, actually." Baker then spoke about the battles he had with the front office, saying he grew tired of "fighting city hall". Baker also cited his family as another reason why he stepped away from the game.

Later in the interview, Baker also spoke about the inability to choose his own coaching staff. The longtime MLB manager and future Hall of Famer told Heyman and Sherman that outside of one opening, the entire coaching staff were holdovers from A.J. Hinch's time as the Astros manager.

So much of Baker's interview spoke to some of the issues that managers have in modern-day baseball. Front office executives are deeply involved in the day-to-day operations of the team, but when the results don't follow, it's the manager who's left to answer for the collective shortcomings. That's a precarious place to be, and by the sound of it, definitely factored into Baker's decision to leave the Astros organization after the 2023 season.

Baker will always be celebrated by Astros fans. At 73 years old, Baker brought a second World Series trophy to Houston and helped restore the organization's reputation as one of the best in baseball. But his departure is one that could cause some of the Houston faithful to view Dana Brown and the Astros front office with somewhat of a jaundiced eye.

The Astros elevated Joe Espada to be the team's new manager, and he seems to be in lockstep with Houston's front office. It remains to be seen if Espada can reach the same heights as Baker, but making it to the playoffs in Year 1 as the Astros' skipper was a good start. That said, the Houston faithful are used to deeper runs in the MLB Postseason, and that's a standard that was set during Baker's time at the helm.

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