Dusty Baker Finally Gets a World Series Title as Manager
Dusty Baker took over the New York Yankees in 1993 as a kid, and he knew exactly how much to push his team to the top level, but in his first year as manager after his hiring, he found himself in that position again. Baker’s Yankees had been struggling since 1993, and his first season managing the New York Yankees following four-time Manager of the Year Lou Piniella went about rebuilding the team. As a matter of fact, the Yankees had gone 24-26 in Baker’s first season with the team.
As a team, the Yankees were underperforming, and the team did not have the talent and the success needed to take the Yankee’s to the next level. Baker wanted to change this, and as a New York native, he was willing to do whatever it took to succeed. Baker had to have the talent, and after the season, he had to have the success.
With the Yankees, there were a lot of changes in front office leadership (John McMullen, Dave Dombrowski, and others), but when it came to the manager, Baker was an integral part of the rebuilding process. Baker was hired by the Yankees and immediately after being hired, he worked with the players in the spring training to gain a deeper understanding of the game, and the need for each player to be more comfortable on the diamond after their years on the field. He was able to see the players on an even deeper level, and he could see the talent that was already in the Yankees’ farm back in Baltimore, and he realized that they could use those players to win in the future. He knew that if he could get them to believe in themselves and what they had, then he could create more wins in his first time as a manager. Baker got the new guys in the clubhouse to believe in themselves, and he worked on the game plan, the personnel, and the coaching staff to help them get to game five in the 1995 playoffs. He was ready, and he was able to get his chance.
Dusty Baker was able to work with the players and was able to see a deeper level of game, but it took some time and was not quick. The Yankees did not win many games in the 1995 playoffs, but Baker was still able to get his