Baker Axed As Reds Coach After Playoff Ouster

@AFP
Baker Axed As Reds Coach After Playoff Ouster

Cincinnati (AFP) – Dusty Baker was fired as manager of the Cincinnati Reds on Friday, three days after the team was eliminated from the Major League Baseball playoffs.

The 64-year-old former star player spent six seasons guiding the Reds, who were beaten 6-2 at Pittsburgh on Tuesday in the National League wildcard playoff game.

Baker had one year remaining on a two-year contract.

“This was a very difficult decision to make,” said Reds president of baseball operations and general manager Walt Jocketty. “Dusty played an important role in the recent success of this organization and we thank him for his contributions during his time here.

“We feel a change is necessary, however, if we are to continue to move the organization forward.”

Cincinnati reached the playoffs three times in the past four years under Baker, winning National League Central division crowns in 2010 and 2012, but never advanced to the next round.

Baker, a manager since 1993 whose other teams included the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants, ranked second among active managers with 1,671 wins, against 1,504 defeats, and was a three-time Manager of the Year with the giants in 1993, 1997 and 2000.

But he has never guided a World Series champion, coming closest in 2002 when his Giants lost to the Los Angeles Angels in seven games.

Baker went 509-463 with the Reds, going 91-71 in 2010 to put the Reds in the playoffs for the first time since 1995. Last year, the Reds were one game from advancing before the Giants won the last three games to take the series.

AFP Photo/Jared Wickerham

Advertising

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

Lin Wood, left, and Sidney Powell.

Lin Wood, left, and Sidney Powell.

Photo, left, by Gage Skidmore (CC Attribution-Share Alike 3.0). Photo, right, screenshot from C-SPAN.

Do you remember Lin Wood, the Trump attorney who in December, 2020, accused Chief Justice John Roberts of raping and murdering children? How about this one: the very same Lin Wood accused Roberts of being responsible for the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in his sleep during a trip to a luxury hunting resort in Texas, a trip, incidentally, Roberts did not make with Scalia and his billionaire buddies.

Keep reading...Show less
No, Biden Isn't Terribly Unpopular (And He Polls Better Than Trump)

Time was when getting caught in a malicious lie about a rival would have ended an American politician’s career. We no longer live that way. Just the other day, Donald Trump unleashed a series of falsehoods attacking President Biden that would have shamed a carnival barker.

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}