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Motivated by late father’s words, Dusty Baker chases elusive crown

AP Sports Writer

Houston – Dusty Baker, then manager of the San Francisco Giants, had just left the stadium after a crushing loss to the Anaheim Angels in Game 7 of the 2002 World Series when he met up with his father.

Johnnie B. Baker Sr. didn’t mince words.

“He goes: ‘Man, after the way (you) lost that one, I don’t know if you’ll ever win another one,” Baker recalled Sunday.

Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker Jr. watches during the fourth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Nineteen years after that conversation and more than a decade since his dad’s passing, Baker finally has a chance to prove wrong the father he loved so dearly.