LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Dusty Baker will be inducted into the Legends of Dodger Baseball before Friday evening’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, honoring his eight seasons with the team, when he helped lead it to three National League pennants and the 1981 World Series championship.
“It’s a tremendous honor,” Baker said in a statement. “And, it’s a bit of a surprise, especially for a kid from Riverside that used to listen to all the Dodger games and Vin Scully. All the Dodger greats that I used to copy and emulate, it’s a little strange for me to be up there honored with them.”
Baker will throw the ceremonial first pitch and will be joined by family members in making the “It’s time for Dodger Baseball” announcement.
The first 40,000 fans in attendance will receive a Baker bobblehead.
Baker was acquired from the Atlanta Braves with utility player Ed Goodson in a Nov. 17, 1975, trade in exchange for four players, most notably power-hitting outfielder Jim Wynn.
Baker hit 144 home runs, had 586 RBIs and 1,144 hits with the Dodgers. His solo home run in his final at-bat of 1977 gave him 30 for the season and made the Dodgers the first team in Major League Baseball with four players hitting at least 30 home runs. The others were Steve Garvey, Ron Cey and Reggie Smith.
He was selected as the MVP of the 1977 National League Championship Series when he hit .357 with two home runs and eight RBIs as the Dodgers defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 3-1 in the best-of-five series.
Baker was an all-star selection in 1981 and 1982, a recipient of a Silver Slugger Award in 1980 and 1981 as one of the National League’s three top- hitting outfielders and received a Gold Glove in 1981.
He left the Dodgers via free agency following the 1983 season to sign with the San Francisco Giants and ended a 19-year playing career with the Oakland Athletics in 1985 and 1986.
Baker began his 26-year major league managerial career with the Giants in 1993, winning the first of his three National League Manager of the Year awards for guiding them to 103 victories, 31 more than the previous season.
In 2022, he became the 12th manager, and first Black manager, to win 2,000 games. His 2,183 victories are seventh on the all-time list. All six above him are in the Hall of Fame.
The Legends of Dodger Baseball was established in 2018 to recognize Dodger greats and their impact on the franchise, both on and off the field. Inductees receive a plaque honoring their Dodger achievements, which will be on permanent display at Dodger Stadium.
Baker is the eighth inductee. Don Newcombe, Garvey and Fernando Valenzuela were inducted in 2019. Maury Wills and Kirk Gibson were inducted in 2022. Manny Mota and Orel Hershiser were inducted in 2023.
The honor is the second for Baker in six days. He was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary’s Shrine of the Eternals at Whittier College on Sunday
The Shrine of the Eternals differs from the Hall of Fame by focusing on a person’s game-changing contributions that supersede statistical measures with voting open to the public, not restricted to sports writers and committees, according to director Joe Price.
Its criteria are distinctiveness of play (good or bad), the uniqueness of character and personality and the imprint the individual has made on the baseball landscape.
Electees, both on and off the field, shall have been responsible for developing baseball through athletic and or business achievements, in terms or its larger cultural and sociological impact as mass entertainment and as an arena for the human imagination.
Baker’s induction into the Legends of Dodger Baseball marks the start of the team’s three-day Alumni Weekend.
The Alumni Grand Reunion will be Saturday, featuring the return of Dodgers from each decade since their move to Los Angeles in 1958. The team’s late owner, Walter O’Malley, will become the 15th member of the team’s Ring of Honor Saturday.
Matt Kemp Day will be Sunday, honoring the team’s only player with at least 200 homers and 150 stolen bases.
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