Baker moves into 7th all time in managerial wins

BALTIMORE -- At this point, when it comes to personal goal setting, Dusty Baker says he only knows what numbers he’ll never reach. Take, for example, Connie Mack’s all-time record of 3,731 managerial wins, which despite Baker’s decorated career, the 74-year-old skipper realistically concedes is probably beyond his grasp.

“Unless I stay out here until I’m 85 years old, which I won’t,” Baker said.

But that doesn’t mean he can’t continue inching closer, and with each and every victory, he does. Baker continued climbing the all-time managerial wins list Wednesday, passing Hall of Fame manager Bucky Harris and moving into sole possession of 7th place with his 2,159th career victory by virtue of Houston’s 8-2 win over the Orioles at Oriole Park.

Right-hander Cristian Javier recorded his first victory in more than two months, and Kyle Tucker (HR) and Jose Altuve (3-for-5, 3 RBIs) powered the offense as Houston moved two games back of the Rangers in the American League West race while helping Baker reach a personal milestone.

“Numbers are cool to achieve … Whenever I get pretty close, I use it as motivation,” Baker said. “But my motivation is: if you perform and do well and your team does well, that will take care of anything you are worried about.”

Baker entered the year 10th on the all-time list with 2,093 wins, and with 66 more this season, he’s now passed Hall of Famers Joe McCarthy and Harris in 2023. Baker needs 35 more victories to match Sparky Anderson’s 2,194 for sixth all time, but doing so would require the Astros to win 35 of their final 47 games and finish with 101 wins.

In his 26-year managerial career, Baker-led teams have won 100 or more games twice: in 1993, his first season with the Giants, and last year, when the Astros won a career-high 106 regular-season games. It was in Baltimore last September that Baker became the fourth manager in MLB history to win 100 games in a season in both leagues.

“He deserves everything good that is happening to him,” Altuve said. “Great guy. Great manager. He cares about the team. He cares about us. We are happy for him and happy that we can help him to keep moving forward.”

Then there is always the possibility that Baker manages beyond this season, though he is not under contract for 2024.

“I’m not retiring today or tomorrow,” Baker said. “Hopefully we win the World Series, and then I’ll make a decision.”

Meanwhile, his Astros are one of the hottest teams in baseball and are playing about as well as anybody in the second half.

Houston has won 16 of 24 since the break, tied with the division-rival Rangers for the MLB’s best record since the All-Star break.

“We’ve been really good ,” said Altuve, who extended his 11-game hit streak and passed Jim Wynn for seventh on the club’s all-time RBI list. “Yordan [Alvarez] is being Yordan. Tucker is having an amazing season and [Alex Bregman] is getting big hits. We’re playing good defense, pitching good, so I’m really happy with the way we’re playing.”

A night after hitting a go-ahead grand slam, Tucker opened Wednesday’s scoring with a two-run first-inning homer off Jack Flaherty, the All-Star outfielder’s eighth in 24 games since the All-Star break. He’s hitting .326 with 16 extra-base hits and an MLB-best 28 RBIs in that span.

Javier’s second consecutive strong outing was another positive development, and the four runs Houston tacked on in the eighth against Baltimore’s ‘pen helped secure the righty’s first win since June 3. Getting Javier back on track is going to be a priority for the Astros over the season’s final two months, after the breakout star of last year’s World Series entered play lugging an 8.16 ERA over his past seven starts.

“He’s been trying to get his eighth victory for forever,” Baker said. “So I said, I’ve to give him a shot.”

The skipper knows a thing or two about chasing wins.

Said Baker: “I asked [NPB legend] Sadaharu Oh, years ago, when he had nine MVPs: ‘What keeps you motivated? He said: The 10th.”