Dusty Baker to manage Houston Astros, per report

Dusty Baker is expected to be hired to be the next manager of the Houston Astros, according to Bob Nightengale. The two sides are apparently negotiating terms of a deal.

Baker would seem to be a terrific hire for a team that is trying to address franchise culture issues as well as general credibility issues surrounding it being revealed that the team was involved in an extensive sign stealing scandal.

Baker, 70, is one of the most respected people in the game, and has a solid track record as a manager with the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals. While Baker has a bad reputation in regards to riding pitchers too hard, that largely is due to his time two decades ago with the Cubs, and his pitcher management in recent years has been such that there would seem to be few concerns.

There may be some mocking and hoo-hawing about how the Astros are going backwards with this hire, but with a veteran team that mainly needs a strong presence at the helm, I think he’s a good choice.