Dusty Baker could stay in baseball and join a new organization in 2024 after all
The Astros' former manager appears to be looking at trying to head back to one of his old organizations.
The Houston Astros were exceedingly fortunate to be able to get Dusty Baker to manage the club when they did. The aftermath of the signing stealing scandal was that Houston lost both their general manager and manager and the club was under siege from the entirety of national baseball media. Bringing Baker into the fold immediately gave the team a respected buffer from a lot of that while also signaling a change in leadership that was certainly called for.
Did Baker always make the right moves at manager? Absolutely not. In fact, Dusty had a lot of stubborn habits that drove Astros fans absolutely crazy. However, there is no denying that he brought stability when the team needed it the most and the guy did help Houston to multiple deep postseason runs and another World Series title after all.
With Dusty's retirement after last season, most thought that he was going to try and relax and spend some well-earned time with his family. However, it sure doesn't look like retirement is completely sticking with Dusty just yet as he is currently in talks to join the San Francisco Giants in some capacity.
Dusty Baker appears poised to join SF Giants as an advisor
Before Houston fans get too upset, this does not appear to be a full un-retirement for Dusty. He lives in the Sacramento area and working with his former team would allow him to stay in baseball in some capacity while still being close enough to home for family time. Dusty managed the Giants from 1993-2002 and he has already talked to Giants president Larry Baer about what his role could be.
Is it annoying that Dusty retired as Astros manager only to join another organization in a different capacity? Maybe a little, but Houston needed a long-term plan at manager that was more open to new ideas and Dusty has frankly earned the right to do what is best for him at his age. The Astros remain in a great spot going into next season and hopefully Dusty to see those grandkids some more while staying around the game for a bit longer.