Former Astros manager Dusty Baker hints at next job after leaving Astros

After serving as the Houston Astros manager for two seasons, leading the team to one World Series Championship and one playoff run that ended in the ALCS, Dusty Baker announced his retirement.

That may not be all she wrote, however, for the three-time National League Manager of the Year. We all know baseball can’t keep this guy away. In fact, Baker teased a possible reunion with the Giants organization, the team he formerly managed from 1993-2002.

“I’m looking forward to this next chapter,” Baker told hosts Steiny and Guru on 95.7 The Game. “I’m also actually talking to the Giants. I talked to Larry Baer the other day about the possibility of maybe even joining them, and so we just have to see how things work out for all of us.”

MLB Rumors: Dusty Baker teases reunion with Giants

A return to baseball in a smaller capacity could make sense for Baker because I’m not sure that he was ready to depart from the sport entirely.

On “The Steam Room” podcast, hosted by Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson, Baker pointed to the pressures that accompanied the managerial position in Houston, stating:

"There was a whole bunch of criticism from 30-year-olds and bloggers and tweeters that I’m not doing this and I don’t know that and I told my wife, 'You know, I’m kind of tired of this and tired of the scrutiny and if I could go manage and show up at say 6:30 for a 7 o’clock game and leave 30 minutes after the game, don’t do the (pregame and postgame interviews), I could manage for another four or five years."

Baker resides in Sacramento with his wife, Melissa, which also happens to be the hometown of the Sacramento River Cats, the Triple-A team affiliate of the Giants. Perhaps Baker will take a step back into a role with the River Cats.

Time will tell, but Baker doesn’t seem ready to hang it up, just yet.

The Astros announced on November 13 that they had hired Baker’s former bench coach, Joe Espada, as their next manager.