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Former baseball player and manager Dusty Baker, left, and former baseball player Juan Marichal speak during a remembrance ceremony for former San Francisco Giants player Orlando Cepeda before a baseball game between the Giants and the San Diego Padres in San Francisco, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Jeff Chiu/AP)
San Francisco Giants fan favorite Dusty Baker might have called it a career managing in MLB, but he's not done with the job just yet.
The three-time NL Manager of the Year - which all came during his Giants tenure - led his first training session as manager for the Nicaraguan national team ahead of the 2026 World Baseball Classic on Monday, according to local media reports from the Central American country. The competition, held March 4 to 17, will be his first managing stint since 2023, when he took his then-reigning-champion Houston Astros to the ALCS but fell to the eventual-champion Texas Rangers in seven games. His retirement capped off a big league managerial career that included stops in San Francisco (1993-2002), Chicago's North Side (2003-2006), Cincinnati (2008-2013), D.C. (2016-2017) and Houston.
Baker, who's still a special adviser to the Giants, told the Sacramento Bee that he didn't want to "sit around, do nothing" during his retirement, and that by going back to work, "You get to stay young."
A Nicaraguan basketball player named Norchad Omier brought up Baker's name to former Giants outfielder and fellow countryman Marvin Benard, who played his entire nine-year career with the Giants (all but one of which was under Baker). The two then met with Baker and convinced him to hop into this new venture at a dinner around the time of last year's NBA Draft. The pitch was described as "a joke," per the Bee, but it became reality in July of last year.
Now, Baker is preparing for the World Baseball Classic alongside former major leaguers like Randall Simon (hitting coach), Gary Pettis (third base coach) and Jacque Jones, who played for Baker on the Cubs for one season. Nicaragua also has some MLB talent on its roster with Cheslor Cuthbert, Erasmo Ramirez and JC Ramirez, though they're considered a heavy underdog. They're scheduled to take on the Mets on March 3 in an exhibition game, and will open up pool play on March 6 against the Dominican Republic, one of the tournament favorites.
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This article originally published at Ex-SF Giants manager Dusty Baker is back in the dugout for one more job.
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