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UPDATE: On Oct. 25, 2023, Dusty Baker announced his retirement from the game.
Dusty Baker is a legend whose trailblazing career transcends baseball. A three-time National League Manager of the Year, he made history in 2022 when he paired the 1981 World Series ring he won as a player with the Los Angeles Dodgers with his first as a skipper when his Houston Astros outlasted the Philadelphia Phillies.
Baker’s incredible life journey has been shaped by supportive parents, a stint in the Marines, and a close friendship with former teammate, Hank Aaron, who helped the California native adapt to life in the segregated south. As one of baseball’s most respected and beloved figures, he was probably the only manager who could have successfully taken over as the Houston Astros’ skipper after the organization came under fire in the wake of a sign-stealing scandal.
In this episode of Boardroom’s “Out of Office” podcast, Baker talks about his life-long love of hoops, what he learned from reading Aaron’s hate mail, how he rates Mike Trout and Jacob deGrom among baseball’s all-time greats, and why America urgently needs to improve its capacity for forgiveness.