The Houston Astros faced a lot of questions coming into the postseason. The reigning champs were still well positioned for a deep run — No. 2 seed in the American League with a wealth of playoffs experience on the roster — but the team felt more brittle than in years past.
More than ever, Dusty Baker was under the microscope. He's an all-time great and he's universally beloved in Houston, but the Astros' season was far from smooth, in part due to decisions Baker made. He stuck with players who, on the surface, didn't deserve it. Houston won 90 games (compared to 106 last season) and the AL East heavy-hitters were considered heavy favorites.
Well, Houston advanced within one game of the ALCS on Tuesday with a 9-1 shellacking of the Minnesota Twins. On the road, no less. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays are both out of the playoffs and the Baltimore Orioles are down 0-2 against the Texas Rangers. So much for those AL East heavy-hitters.
Baker has his team right back on the doorstep of history and the Astros look more than capable of breaking through. The 74-year-old baseball savant deserves credit for sticking to his guns.
Dusty Baker pushed back Justin Verlander's start... and it worked
Baker drew the ire of the Astros fanbase when he announced Justin Verlander would not draw the Game 4 start in Minnesota on short rest. Verlander tossed six scoreless innings in the Astros' Game 1 victory and he was the ringleader on the mound during Houston's 2022 World Series run. Now, the critics of Baker's decision are quiet as mice.
The main argument was that Houston could face a 1-2 deficit without their best pitcher on the mound in Game 4. Now, only one of two outcomes is possible: Houston will have Verlander for win-or-go-home Game 5, or Verlander will be extra refreshed for Game 1 of the NLCS if the Astros pull out Game 4 in Minneapolis.
Cristian Javier pitched a Game 3 gem to give Houston the leg up in the series. Baker took a definite risk, and a loss in Game 4 could sway fans back to a more critical point of view. But, the opposite is also true. If Verlander were to return for Game 4 and struggle on short rest, the Astros would face do-or-die Game 5 without their top arm.
It certainly feels like Baker made the right call.
Maybe Dusty Baker was right to complement Martin Maldonado
After the game on Tuesday, Baker was asked about the importance of Cristian Javier's breaking ball, which caught many a Twins player whiffing. He kept his answer short and sweet, but he didn't credit Javier. He credited the conductor behind the plate, Martin Maldonado.
"You know Maldy is directing him."
The general sentiment of the above tweet is understandable. Why not praise Javier for a great day on the mound and be done with it? Of course, this doesn't read as disrespect toward Javier, but as a show of genuine appreciation toward Maldonado, a player who has been subject to more than his fair share of flack during the season.
Maldy has never been a prolific plate presence. This season was more of the same — .191/.258/.348 splits with 15 home runs and 36 RBIs in 116 games. But, Maldy is a whiz behind the plate. He understands how to call a game and he won Gold Glove honors way back in 2017, during his brief pit stop with the Angels. The man is a defense-forward option and Tuesday was proof of Baker's thinking on the matter.
Javier deserves credit, but so does Maldonado for helping to shape Javier's tremendous performance. It takes two to tango. In this case, that refers to the Astros' complete annihilation of the Twins' offense. Maldonado provided the canvas and Javier painted a gorgeous picture.
He even delivered at the plate, for good measure. Maldonado got on base twice with a couple of hits, rounding out a highly impactful afternoon for the 37-year-old who still has gas left in the tank.
Dusty Baker stuck with Jose Abreu after a career-worst season and it paid off
The Houston Astros signed Jose Abreu to a three-year, $58.5 million contract last winter. That decision has been a thorn in the side of every Astros fan all season, as the 36-year-old rewarded Houston's faith with the worst season of his career.
Abreu, who won MVP in 2020 and spent nine extremely productive years with the White Sox, slashed .237/.296/.383 in his first go-around with the 'Stros, hitting 18 dingers and driving in 90 runs in 141 games. He didn't exactly earn Baker's confidence, but the Astros paid Abreu for a reason — because his resume is borderline infallible. He has a reputation of greatness, and that gets you a lot of leeway in the MLB. It doesn't generally matter if the fanbase agrees or not.
Well, the chorus calling for less Abreu will be silent after Tuesday afternoon. The much-maligned first baseman stepped up in a huge way, smacking two home runs for five RBIs. That means Abreu was responsible for over half of Houston's points in a game that puts them within one game of back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-back-to-back ALCS appearances.
Something tells me this Baker guy knows what he's doing. The Astros' sustained success can be attributed to a number of different personnel members, but Baker is the overarching constant — the puppeteer at the controls, so to speak. He's pulling the strings and the Astros continue to deliver when it counts. The regular season is important, but Baker tends to truly thrive in the playoffs. That is the success that gets documented in the history books.
At a certain point, you simply have to tip your hat and give the man credit. He doesn't always do it the way fans want or expect, but there's a reason Dusty Baker is in charge of the Astros dugout and not your neighbor Paul. He's one of the best managers of his generation.