https://blogs.fangraphs.com/dan-szymborski-fangraphs-chat-9-14-23/ Dan Szymborski: Chas could be hot on the heels of Bonds’ HR season record and I still think Baker would frequently sit him for no reason!
Wondering why this was bumped (Nothing about Chas…or maybe I missed it) Dusty Baker says he defied wishes of Astros' brass to win World Series In a new book, he reveals he made moves during the 2022 playoffs that went against the wishes of the team’s baseball operations department. Baker said he heard from Houston’s baseball operations people throughout the 2022 World Series against the Phillies, which the Astros won in six games. He stuck with some of the team’s mainstays despite the trade-deadline additions of players such as catcher Christian Vázquez and first baseman Trey Mancini. “Nobody wanted Yuli Gurriel to play,” Baker told Miller. “Nobody wanted Maldy (Martín Maldonado) to catch. The operations people didn’t want (Jeremy) Peña to bat second, either. But I’ve got to do what I think is right. You know, I’m a numbers man, too. I’ve always used numbers. Always. “But I don’t used them 100 percent. There are no absolutes in this game, period. Whether I go with my feelings or whether I go with numbers, there are no absolutes because the opposition can change your absolute formula by a homer or blooper or walk or whatever it is.” In the book, Baker said some advice he got from the late former Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler about things you can see in a player’s face helped sell him on Peña, who was replacing star Carlos Correa after the latter left for Minnesota in free agency. “He’s out there with the other young players, and, like Bo said, you can see fear, you can see anxiety, or you can see that the kid doesn’t have a scared bone in his body,” Baker told Miller. “Or you can see is intelligence and you can see his heart. You can see it all by looking at his face.” As for another one of his memorable decisions from the 2022 World Series, letting Justin Verlander face the Phillies' lineup for a third time in Game 5 with a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning, Baker told Miller he recalled the advice of former Dodgers teammate Tommy John: “A good pitcher can get out of trouble twice, a great pitcher three times, a so-so pitcher maybe once.” After giving up a two-out double, Verlander retired Nick Castellanos after a grueling 10-pitch at-bat to get out of the inning. He eventually got his first World Series win in his fifth trip to the Fall Classic. Baker maintained getting Verlander the elusive win was not why he left him in, but admitted “it was in my heart.”
The Duster is mis-remembering things. No one was opposed to Moldy catching in '22. And he wasn't allowed to use Dubon like he wanted to. But this is what he does: every organization he leaves he trashes.
