Dusty Baker continues inspiring the Cincinnati Reds
The past week witnessed the otherwise glamorous event wherein the balloting for the Manager of the Year Award was formally announced. Baseball Associations’ of America hands out awards in different categories to the managers and the players of the American
League and National League every year.
From the National League, the top 3 nominees included Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker, Washington Nationals’ Davey Johnson and Bruce Bochy of the San Francisco Giants. The result was eagerly awaited by the fans of respective teams.
Oddities breed anomaly. Let’s, for a while, say that awards do not necessarily add to the station of any individual. Neither do they detract from the stature of any person. That reasoning, that I have consciously used here, should then be applied on the
outcome of Manager of the Year Award too.
Cincinnati Reds Dusty Baker finished second here. Considering the fact that his was one of the most successful teams in the National League during the regular season, why was it not convincing enough to give him the first slot in this competition?
Not that Baker has not won this honour in his career; he has. A prestigious career that spans for 19 years, he has won it thrice. However, herein he won 77 points compared to Davey Johnson’s 131 points – making the latter as the winner of the award.
If the regular season alone was the criterion for according this award, Cincinnati Reds manager had led his team in the National League Central with 97-65 record. If the postseason performance is to be the barometer, it was San Francisco Giants that won
the World Series.
Given the aforementioned set of basic facts, one wonders what was it that rendered Dusty Baker unable to win Manager of the Year Award. Whatever the reason that factored into this decision, the Reds manager continues to command a team that has some really
big names in baseball.
From Joey Votto to Brandon Phillips, and from Johnny Cueto to Aroldis Chapman, there has been no paucity of quality players in any position when it comes to the Reds roster. And to guide them to course of victory, Dusty Baker remains a source of inspiration.
That the club extended the contract for two years after the end of this season is actually an acknowledgement of the services he has rendered.
“It’s very much the same contract and very much the same thing for all of us up here: There’s work left to be done.”
That work, it is a safe assertion to make, is to put the Cincinnati Reds on winning stand.
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