He's the fifth-oldest manager in baseball behind Davey Johnson, Charlie Manuel, Jim Leyland and Terry Collins, but the passage of time has done nothing to curb his enthusiasm or dull his competitive edge. And he's not sliding into third base any time soon.' Cloudy futureīaker keeps plugging away even though Cox and several other contemporaries - Lou Piniella, Tony La Russa, Joe Torre and Cito Gaston, to name four - have drifted off into retirement. Bobby Cox wore spikes for years, and nobody gave him about that. He's just playing a different position, if you will. 'I think he does the wristbands and the toothpicks because he was a player,' Bailey said. The toothpicks keep him off chewing tobacco, and Baker claims to wear wristbands in the dugout to wipe the perspiration off his forehead. And when Darren tells him that something he's done is 'sick,' he wonders whether that's a good or a bad thing.ĭuring a recent stop at Citi Field in New York, Baker sat in his office with an advance scouting binder, a copy of Eckhart Tolle's 'The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment' and the obligatory plastic box of toothpicks on his desk.

If his pants are too tight, Darren is quick to bring it to his attention. Now Baker is at the opposite end of the spectrum at 63, and his son Darren, 13, is his pop culture lifeline. Hank Aaron, Orlando Cepeda, Clete Boyer and Joe Pepitone were major influences in his formative years with the team, but there were times when Baker felt he had more in common with the bat boys than the veteran Braves because of the age gap. In 1968, Baker made it to the majors with Atlanta at age 19. Frank Victores/US Presswireīaker has a reputation as a manager with little tolerance for young players, and that label agitates and confounds him to no end. We're just trying to trade knowledge a little bit.' Dusty Baker, 63, is in his 19th season as a big league manager and his fifth with the Reds. 'Dusty is a really diverse guy in all the things he's been around and seen. 'I've borrowed quite a few books from him,' Bailey said.

Bailey, in turn, has given Baker two works by Paulo Coelho - 'The Alchemist' and 'Warrior of the Light.' Eckert's novel 'The Frontiersmen,' the story of Simon Kenton's role in opening the Northwest territory to settlement. Earlier this year Baker suggested that Bailey read Allan W. His office is the baseball equivalent of Oprah's Book Club.Ĭincinnati Reds pitcher Homer Bailey, an ardent reader, occasionally combs through the manager's personal library for a new page-turner to help pass the time. One of Dusty Baker's time-honored tools is to bond with players through music, literature and the arts.

It's always a chore navigating 25 personalities and egos in a baseball clubhouse, and managers need to push buttons and establish order in a way that they see fit.

Dusty baker toothpicks