Faced with the prospect of going to the World Series again with a win or going home with a loss, the Houston Astros couldn’t secure the victory and fell at home to the Texas Rangers on Monday.
The Rangers won the American League pennant and the Astros are eliminated from the race.
Manager Dusty Baker came very close to qualifying for his third straight World Series, but it just wasn’t meant to be.
After the game, the Astros skipper told the media that 2023 would be his last season as an MLB manager.
He will now enter much-deserved retirement, after managing MLB squads since 1993.
Fans reacted to the news on Twitter.
Most Astros fans are grateful to Baker even though the team couldn’t reach the ultimate goal in 2023.
Thanks for the WS title in 2022 Dusty! 👏👏👏 We will never forget that or how you guided this club post-scandal to keep us on top for so long. Enjoy retirement (if somehow you end up reading this)!
— Astros Fans UK (@AstrosFansUK) October 24, 2023
A man who will be missed in Major League Baseball. #DustyBaker pic.twitter.com/ZAjdAvryRu
— Michael Freda (@MichaelFreda17) October 24, 2023
Others recognize and celebrate the fact that Baker was a class act through and through, and deserved to go out on top.
Class act – need more men like Dusty to lead.
— J. Petty (@JJPettyFamily) October 24, 2023
Of course, as it usually happens, humor was also there in many of the replies.
This man just ended Dusty’s career 😭 pic.twitter.com/5KGhqslX0f
— Ben (@HowUBenFeller) October 24, 2023
That’s Adolis Garcia in his pre-Rangers days (with the St. Louis Cardinals), in case you were wondering.
Garcia was the ALCS MVP and one of the primary reasons why Baker’s Astros couldn’t reach the Fall Classic.
But back to Baker: he played a major role in absorbing the pressure and the spotlight for a franchise that was fresh off a sign-stealing scandal.
For that, he used his calmness, leadership, and people skills.
He kept the Astros truly competitive in the post-scandal days and even won a World Series last year.
The game of baseball will definitely miss Baker.
