As long as we are talking about Dusty, everyone has made good points. Few people can be excellent in every aspect of their jobs. There are very few 5 tool players. Barry Bonds had only 4.5 tools, a weak arm, but quickness and accuracy that compensated (until he hit about 35-36). Being a manager requires a much more complex set of skills. Dusty didn't handle the bullpen well and he didn't work well with younger players (as Sposfan1 has pointed out.) On the other hand, the Giants were bound and determined to give him a roster full of veterans, and Baker was a master at getting the most out of them. He took a poor Giants team and made them a contender almost every year.

The defining moment of his career, of course, was game 6 of the 2002 World Series. With a 5-0 lead in the 7th, Russ Ortiz put the first two Angels on base. For all the talk of Bonds and Kent, you all know that pitching is what wins and that the reason the Giants made it that far was the bullpen. It was outstanding all year long. And Dusty had a regular routine of bringing in Felix Rodriguez, followed by either Scott Eyre (Lefty) or Tim Worrell (righty), and closing with Robb Nen. It's easy to say in retrospect that Dusty should have left Ortiz in. My feeling was that Ortiz was pitching well, so don't rock the boat. If he gives up a run or 2, then go to the bullpen. You would still have at worst a 5-3 lead if the next guy homers. I think we all felt that with a 5-0 lead, leaving in Ortiz or going to the bullpen was six of one, half a dozen of the other. I honestly don't think you can criticize him for going either way. The think that will always stick in my mind is this: did Baker and the Giants know how bad Nen's arm was? If they did, they must have thought that he could get though one last inning for that year. But also, if they did, then perhaps Baker should have let Ortiz face a couple more batters. I'd be curious if anyone has read or heard anything about the Nen factor during the game.

I must say I liked Baker personally. I met him twice. The last time I met him in a bar when he was with the Cubs. I bought him a drink and thanked him for what he did achieve. He actually spent a few minutes talking with me until he had to leave. Class guy all the way.

And finally, it was all worth it when J.T. Snow grabbed Dusty's kid at home plate to avoid having him run over.

Last Edited By: 3rdandKing 03/21/08 01:16 PM. Edited 1 times.