DUSTY BAKER TAKES HIS TURN AT THE TOP GIANTS MANAGER GETS MOST FROM HIS TALENT.Byline: Steve Dilbeck Staff Writer Up here at the absolute top, the view can be as dazzling as it is fleeting. Reach these heights, and you'd best come pre-equipped with some perspective. Dusty Baker Because right now, Dusty Baker is hot. Hot like uninspiring uninspiring Adjective not likely to make people interested or excited Adj. 1. uninspiring - depressing to the spirit; "a villa of uninspiring design" inspiring - stimulating or exalting to the spirit presidential candidates only dream about. Hot like very few baseball managers have been in their lifetimes. Every so often a Jim Leyland Baker led the medium-market Giants to the best record in baseball. Later this month he is expected to be named the first three-time National League Manager of the Year. With his contract up at the end of the season, he will be the most sought-after manager in baseball. The winning, the contract, the stars - all have been aligned to leave Baker at the very apex of his profession. Whatever satisfaction Baker is enjoying from this crest, outwardly out·ward·ly adv. 1. On the outside or exterior; externally. 2. Toward the outside. 3. In regard to outward condition, conduct, or manifestation: outwardly a perfect gentleman. he remains unaffected. The view up there may seem overpowering, but perspective brings it into sharper focus. ``(The contract), we're winning, everything is coming to head at the same time,'' Baker said. ``I've been through periods with a lot of interest, and periods where there's was zero interest in me. And then back to a lot of interest again. ``So you just have to stay on top of your game, because it's not that hard to go back to zero interest. You just look at it with as much truth and honesty as possible.'' Players, former players, opposing managers, general managers - all shower Baker with praise. All speak of him as sincere, as someone able to get the most out of every team he has, as a man who deserves to stand at this pinnacle. ``It starts with having success, and he's had that up there,'' said Padres
Not to be confused with San Diego Padres. manager Bruce Bochy
n. See focus. .'' Certainly, this convergence of attention figures to leave him a much richer man. He is making a relatively modest $895,000 in this last season of a two-year extension. The Giants have had an offer on the table for months, but Baker said he didn't want negotiations to become a distraction for the team. He is expected to earn upwards of $3 million per year, more than he made in any one season of his 16-year playing career with the Braves, Dodgers, Giants and A's. Baker maintains he's not worrying about his contract. ``I remember one day I told Al Rosen The Dodgers, of course, could be one of the teams that makes a serious run at Baker. Rumors of the Dodgers being eager to pursue Baker have swirled for months, though Baker said he has no particular reaction. If the Dodgers really expect to steal Baker from the Giants, they have a hard road ahead. He spent half his playing career with the Dodgers, and indeed, it was that experience that has helped him to roll with highs and lows of managing. The Dodgers traded four players for Baker prior to the '76 season, but he played it with sore knees. He still remembers the boos, those who doubted his injuries, the angry talk-show callers. ``They called me a basket case basket case Train wreck Vox populi A derogatory term for a Pt with a dread disease or a terminal illness; a person to be pitied ,'' Baker said. ``From that day forward, I said I wouldn't allow anybody else to get inside my head or heart and change my opinion of myself.'' The next year, Baker hit 30 home runs and the Dodgers went to the World Series. But the Dodgers dumped Baker after the '83 season. He left under a cloud of unsubstantiated rumors. Baker won't address any bitterness - ``That's between me, and me.'' - but most figure it is unlikely he will return to Chavez Ravine. Although born in Riverside, Baker was raised in Northern California Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern . He still has family there and most expect him to remain, although it may mean an uncharacteristic un·char·ac·ter·is·tic adj. Unusual or atypical: an uncharacteristic display of anger. un deal for typically modest-spending Giants owner Peter Magowan Peter A. Magowan (born 1942 [1]) is the managing general partner of the San Francisco Giants Major League Baseball franchise. Magowan, along with a group of investors, purchased the franchise on January 12, 1993 from the previous owner, Bob Lurie. . La Russa, now the Cardinals manager, was in a similar position while with the A's and is confident Baker understands his situation. ``He knows what's going on What's Going On is a record by American soul singer Marvin Gaye. Released on May 21, 1971 (see 1971 in music), What's Going On reflected the beginning of a new trend in soul music. ,'' La Russa said. ``He'll figure it out. He's smart enough not to sign a contract. So I hope at the end of the year he sets a new standard. It would help everybody. ``It'll be there for him, you watch.'' La Russa knows better than most how quickly, and frequently, things can change for a manager. ``Sometimes when you work in the public eye, you can get extra attention in a positive or a negative way,'' he said. ``If you're around long enough, you get them both. I think most of time, you get what you deserve. ``In Dusty's case, the credit he's received is the credit he's earned.'' Baker is in his eighth season as manager, all with the Giants. No one need tell him the transitory TRANSITORY. That which lasts but a short time, as transitory facts that which may be laid in different places, as a transitory action. nature of the managerial spotlight. ``People like to associate success with who's winning at the time,'' Baker said. ``If you're winning, you're extremely smart. When you losing, then you've lost your magic or your desire or your fire or whatever it is they think you've lost. ``It boils down to what kind of players you have and what kind of team you have. That's the one thing about these guys, they believe we're a team.'' And there's one other thing about Baker: He's the Manager of the Moment - and he's yet to take a team to the World Series. Should he pull it off this postseason, the Baker crescendo cres·cen·do n. pl. cres·cen·dos or cres·cen·di 1. Abbr. cr. Music a. A gradual increase, especially in the volume or intensity of sound in a passage. b. will only rise. How could the Giants even consider not re-signing him then? The bidders will line up, though Baker said he's not particularly flattered. ``Not really,'' he said. ``I just don't feel nothing. I've got a job to do here. I mean, every man knows when he has value.'' The postseason and ensuing en·sue intr.v. en·sued, en·su·ing, en·sues 1. To follow as a consequence or result. See Synonyms at follow. 2. To take place subsequently. contract negotiations await, so Baker is not ready to label this his most gratifying grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. season as a manager. ``Not yet,'' he said. ``I'm hoping it will be in the end. I told our guys - `Let's make this our most memorable year.' You don't have many of those in your life. I'll let you know in a month.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Dusty Baker - three-time National League Manager of the Year? John McCoy/Staff Photographer |
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