BAKER'S BACK
Houston Astros, manager Dusty Baker make it official
Nov 9, 2022, 1:59 pm
Here's hoping Baker gets another trophy. Photo by Marco Torres/@MarcoFromHouston
With all the frenzied speculation surrounding Houston Astros stars who may or may not return — Trey Mancini and Will Smith are now free agents — fans received some welcome news from the team on Wednesday, November 9.
Beloved manager Dusty Baker will return next year, Astros owner Jim Crane announced on Wednesday. While exact terms weren’t disclosed, Baker’s deal is a one-year contract through the end of the 2023 season, per the team.
“Hey man, we’ve got a chance to win back-to-back and this is what I’d like to do,” Baker said at a news conference on Wednesday, per MLB.com. “I’ve got work to do. You can’t be satisfied on where you are right now or you’ll never get past where you are right now.”
“I love winning more than anything,” he continued. “I’m spoiled by winning. That’s what I plan on doing, doing some more winning.”
Baker has been doing plenty of winning since he joined the Astros. His new deal comes off the Astros’ historic 2022 season, capped by the team’s Game 6 clinching of its second World Series title since 2017. Under Baker’s management, the Astros dominated the American League with a 106-56 record, the second-best in franchise history.
That domination continued throughout the postseason, with a 7-0 sweep in the American League Division Series and American League Championship Series.
As the nation watched, the Astros faced off with the Philadelphia Phillies for the Commissioner’s Trophy, rallying three straight wins, including the 4-1 win in Game 6 to secure the title in front of a raucous Minute Maid Park crowd on Saturday, November 5.
By the numbers, re-signing Baker is a no-brainer; he boasts a combined record of 230-154 (.599) in the regular season over his three seasons with the team, which tops the AL in that span.
A calming presence when he took over the team in 2020, Baker ushered the team to a mere one win away from the World Series. The next season, the Astros scored the AL pennant and headed to the World Series, where they were eventually bested by the Atlanta Braves in six games.
And this year? The run has been nothing short of magical… continue on CultureMap.
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A timely blast from Caratini fuels another Astros win
Jul 1, 2025, 11:32 pm
Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez has experienced a setback in his recovery from a broken right hand and will see a specialist.
Astros general manager Dana Brown said Alvarez felt pain when he arrived Tuesday at the team's spring training complex in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he had a workout a day earlier. Alvarez also took batting practice Saturday at Daikin Park.
He will be shut down until he's evaluated by the specialist.
“It’s a tough time going through this with Yordan, but I know that he’s still feeling pain and the soreness in his hand,” Brown said before Tuesday night's series opener at Colorado. “We’re not going to try to push it or force him through anything. We're just going to allow him to heal and get a little bit more answers as to what steps we take next.”
Alvarez has been sidelined for nearly two months. The injury was initially diagnosed as a muscle strain, but when Alvarez felt pain again while hitting in late May, imaging revealed a small fracture.
The 28-year-old outfielder, who has hit 31 homers or more in each of the past four seasons, had been eyeing a return as soon as this weekend at the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now it's uncertain when he'll play.
“We felt like he was close because he had felt so good of late,” Brown said, “but this is certainly news that we didn't want.”
You can watch Brown discuss the setback in the video below.
#Astros GM Dana Brown has the latest on Yordan Alvarez who will see a hand specialist tomorrow
We'll discuss on @astros Pregame before tonight's game with the Rockies starting at 7PM on SCHN pic.twitter.com/7hyIFL9jah
— Space City Home Network (@SpaceCityHN) July 1, 2025
Also Tuesday, the Astros officially placed shortstop Jeremy Peña on the 10-day injured list with a fractured rib and recalled infielder Shay Whitcomb from Triple-A Sugar Land.