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DUSTY BAKER
Dusty Baker was three-time Manager of the Year (1993, '97 and 2000), completed his 10th season as Giants' skipper in 2002, and became the third Giants skipper to man the helm for ten seasons, joining John McGraw (31 years, 1902-32) and Bill Terry (10, 1932-41). He became the 1st NL manager and only the 2nd skipper to earn three BBWAA Manager of Year honors (Tony LaRussa, 1983, '88 and '92). Baker also became the fifteenth skipper to earn The Sporting News Manager of Year honor for 2nd time in his career. Baker was the 34th manager in Giants franchise history. His 840 victories rank second on the franchise list for managers, behind only McGraw (2,064). Baker has managed 1,555 games and also ranks 2nd amongst Giants managers (McGraw, 4,424). Dusty Baker has guided the club to post season on 3 different occasions, winning 2 NL West titles (1997 and 2000) and earning the Wild Card berth in 2002. Overall, he has finished in the top 2 spots in the division 8 times in 10 years. Baker has had the 2nd-longest tenure with his current club among all ML skippers, trailing only Atlanta's Bobby Cox (12 seasons with Braves). Baker is 8th among current big league managers with 840 career wins. His .540 career winning percentage (840-715) ranks 2nd among the nine current ML head men with at least 1,300 games managed (only Cox, with 1,805-1,404; .562) boasts better.
2002: Dusty Baker piloted SF to their NL Wild Card berth with 95 victories, matching the 1965 club for the 4th-highest win total in SF history. The Giants finished 2nd in the NL West, marking the 1st time the club has finished in either 1st- or 2nd-place for 6 consecutive years since 1917-25, when Giants did it 9 straight seasons. SF also reached a 90-win level for the 3rd straight season for the 1st time since accomplishing the feat 4 years in row from 1964-67. Baker moved past Terry for the 2nd most games at the helm of the Giants July 26 vs. LA, managing his 1,497th game. He logged his 800th victory on July 18 with a 3-2, 12-frame triumph at Dodger Stadium. Dusty became the 2nd-winningest manager in franchise history with his 824th career victory, 1-0 blanking of the Diamondbacks Sept. 6.
2001: Baker guided the Giants to 2nd place in the NL West, finishing 2 games behind eventual World Champion Arizona Diamondbacks. Baker kept the club in contention for both the division title and the wild card spot until the 160th game. He captured his 700th win on July 5 at LA (3-2) and was selected to serve as coach for National League club at All-Star game in Seattle, marking his 3rd coaching trip to the Mid-Summer Classic. He underwent successful surgery for prostate cancer Dec. 17 at Stanford Hospital, undergoing a 3-hour procedure. Dr. Joseph Presti removed the cancerous prostate, and a biopsy performed on surrounding lymph nodes proved negative.
2000: Baker was named NL Manager of the Year by both BBWAA and The Sporting News after guiding the Giants to the NL West championship with a Major League-best 97-65 mark. He moved past Roger Craig June 12 with his 587th career victory, 10-3 triumph over Cincinnati to become the winningest manager in SF Giants history. Baker posted his 600th career victory in the 2nd game of a July 4 twinbill, 3-0 victory over Colorado. He passed Craig for most contests at the helm of the SF Giants (1,153) July 7 with a 4-2 win at St. Louis. Dusty moved past Leo Durocher for 3rd place on the Giants franchise list for games managed with his 1,161st game July 18 vs. Texas. He earned his 638th victory on Sept. 4 vs. Philadelphia to pass Durocher for 3rd place on franchise list.
1999: Baker posted his 500th win on June 1 in Philadelphia and became only the 2nd SF manager to reach the 1,000-game mark at the helm on July 18 at Texas, joining Craig (1,152).
1998: Baker guided the Giants to one of best comebacks in recent times, gaining 5.0 games over the final 10 regular season contests to force a tie-breaker game with Chicago for the NL Wild Card spot. However, SF was eliminated from the race 5-3 at Wrigley Field on Sept. 28. Dusty earned his 400th career win on May 5 with 8-2, 10-inning triumph over the Marlins.
1997 Baker was named NL Manager of the Year by BBWAA and The Sporting News, marking 2nd time he had been honored (also 1993). He led the Giants to their 1st NL West championship since 1989, posting 90-72 ledger. The Giants were only the 4th team in history to finish in 1st place after a last place standing the previous year. Baker was selected to serve as coach for the National League club at the All-Star Game in Cleveland; it was the 2nd time he'd been chosen.
1996: Baker faced great adversity during this season as the Giants used the Disabled List for a franchise-record 22 times (16 injured players). He managed a group of Major League All-Stars that defeated the Japanese All-Star team 4 games to 2 with 2 ties during post-season tour of Japan.
1995: Baker registered his 200th career victory in the Giants' 3-1 victory over the Dodgers Aug. 6.
1994: Baker led SF to their 2nd place finish in the NL West, finishing 3.5 games behind LA in that strike-shortened season.
1993: Baker was named BBWAA National League Manager of Year and AP Manager of Year in his rookie campaign. He came within 1 game of winning the NL West, guiding the club to the 103-59 mark, 2nd best record in majors. 103 wins tied the SF mark, equaling the 1962 N.L. champs (103-62). Dusty Baker won more games than any other rookie manager in National League history and became only the 4th manager to win 100 games in his rookie campaign.
1988-92: Prior to being named the Giants' skipper, Dusty served 5 seasons as coach under previous manager Roger Craig, and before that, served as 1st base coach in 1988 and as hitting instructor from 1989-92.
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