It seems that Dusty Baker’s time leading the Houston Astros is coming to an end.
The Texas Rangers rolled over the Astros 11-4 in Game 7 of the ALCS on Monday night, ending Houston's bid for a return trip to the World Series. According to The Athletic's Brittany Ghiroli and Chandler Rome, Baker has expressed to multiple people inside the organization that this season will be his final as the team's manager.
Baker has not made that official, and declined to comment when asked directly about that report by The Athletic.
Baker, 74, just wrapped up his 26th season managing in Major League Baseball. He holds a career 2-1,83-1,862 regular season record and won a World Series title with the Astros in 2022.
Baker — who played himself as an outfielder from 1968-1986 — got his managerial start in 1993 with the San Francisco Giants, where he spent the first 10 years of his career. He then worked for the Chicago Cubs for four seasons, the Cincinnati Reds for six seasons and the Washington Nationals for two before joining Houston in 2020.
Baker went 320-226 in Houston, which is good for the second-best winning percentage in franchise history. He led the Astros to four straight ALCS runs, too, and got them to two World Series.
Baker will likely make his decision final in the coming days now that the Astros have been eliminated from the postseason. He isn’t, however, wanting to retire from baseball completely.
"When he is done managing, I know he has a lot of knowledge to offer an organization," Baker's wife, Melissa, told The Athletic. "I know he can help to build a winner. My husband just wants to win and is a winner."
This post will be updated with more information shortly.