Dusty Baker Point Quotations

My point is not only about teaching and having the ability to learn but also the ability to retain so you don't have to tell them the same thing over and over again, ... It's like a teacher. When you give them a test, you don't know what that student knows. How do you give a test here except on the field? Roger Craig told me, 'Never assume that they know. You can assume they should know, but there's no guarantee.'

We're going to give him as much playing time as possible this week, so we can make up our mind. I'm sure when you get to this point in your career you consider all the possibilities, and I'm sure he's doing some evaluation of his own abilities. So, yeah, these are important days for him.

With his health conditions of the past, we sort of considered that it might be better if he doesn't play. It's not necessarily final at this point but he's leaning toward that.

To me, and he may not like it, but I point to him all the time as the way to be. It's not his personality to accept that, but I single him out, which I don't do that often. I say, 'Hey, this is how you want to go about your business. This is how you want to perform. This is how you want to work on fielding, hitting, bunting, everything.

You're playing against guys who are younger than you, so you can set them up. You get to a certain point in your career and you almost know what's coming. You learn to trust your feelings. Hank Aaron told me you don't become a great player until you learn to trust your feelings.

It's impossible to predict a rehab. We want him as soon as possible, but you can't rush him. You have to build him up to the point where you have him at the end of the year. Hopefully, it's not too long.

He's the guy who's doing it the most correctly. That's why he has Gold Gloves. To me, and he may not like it, but I point to him all the time as the way to be. It's not his personality to accept that, but I single him out, which I don't do that often. I say, 'Hey, this is how you want to go about your business. This is how you want to perform. This is how you want to work on fielding, hitting, bunting, everything.

It's at a point of no decision yet. It's not a 'no,' but it's not a 'yes.' I think he's leaning toward that way. Personally, I'd rather have him go down early while he's still in baseball shape and play, and then come home in December.

It was filled with ups and downs and a constant struggle. There was never a point where you felt you were in control for a long extended period of time.

They're a lock, but we have to get Prior to that point first. He's on schedule to do that but until he actually gets out there, we don't know. You don't know if somebody is going to come up sore, or somebody is going to pull something or whatever.