Players happy with Cincinnati Reds decision to extend manager Dusty Baker’s contract – MLB News
As the Cincinnati Reds announced a two-year contract extension with manager Dusty Baker on Monday, October 15, players expressed their happiness with the decision, terming it as harbinger of better things to come for the team.
Two-year contract extension is essentially the continuation of the journey the Reds are making wherein from 2010 onwards they have performed outstandingly well, twice making into the playoffs.
This year, with 97-65 record, the Reds made it second best in baseball. Although playoffs did not have a particularly delightful and overwhelming result, contract extension serves as evidence of the team’s confidence in manager Dusty Baker.
This was the reason why almost all the players were buoyed.
"That's great news," Bruce said in a text message. "I believe Dusty has been an integral part of the organization's turnaround. I'm very happy that he'll be back as manager. He's been the only manager I've known since I've been in the Major Leagues, and he's been great to play for. Looking forward to two more years of that."
General manager Walt Jocketty had his perspective to share and the reasons that factored into the decision of maintaining Dusty Baker as the manager.
He said, "We've made tremendous progress in the last five years, even from 2010. We had the second best record in baseball. We came up short in the playoffs but did some remarkable things. It's something to keep building on."
The 63-year-old Baker has an impressive record to boast as manager. He sits among the 19th best skippers and second in active managers as he has 1,581 wins to his credit with clubs like San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs and the Reds.
2012 will be remembered for his ability to help the team fight all the odds of losing the important players right in the beginning of the season, from key relievers to batters.
Although the Reds could not quite hold their ground in the playoffs against the Giants, their overall record was more than satisfactory, making them the top team in the NL Central and the National League.
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