Baseball Digest presented its fourth annual Lifetime Achievement Award to Dusty Baker, who retired following the 2023 season after 56 years in Major League Baseball as a player, coach, and manager.
“Receiving this award is a tremendous honor,” the 74-year-old Baker said. “I never thought I’d be in the class of the people who received this award. I know that my late mom and dad would be proud of me. This is really special.”
The award debuted in 2021 and has had Willie Mays, Vin Scully, and Joe Torre as its first three recipients; it is the game’s only such honor presented annually nationally. It recognizes a living individual whose career has been spent in or around Major League Baseball and who has significantly contributed to the game. The selection was made by the independently submitted votes of a distinguished panel of 18 longtime MLB participants and observers.
Said Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred, Jr.: “On behalf of Major League Baseball, I am honored to congratulate Dusty Baker as the 2024 recipient of Baseball Digest’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He joins an incredible club comprised of Willie Mays, Vin Scully, and Joe Torre. Dusty represents leadership, goodwill, and winning baseball. His ability to connect with others across generations is second to none. He is a championship manager and player. But, most importantly, Dusty is an extraordinary ambassador for our national pastime.”
Baker’s Major League career began as a 19-year-old outfielder in 1968 when he debuted as a pinch-hitter for the Atlanta Braves on Sept. 7. He would play in the Majors for 19 seasons (1968-86), earning a pair of All-Star selections and Silver Slugger Awards as well as a Rawlings Gold Glove. Baker appeared in three World Series as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, winning a World Championship in 1981.
After serving as a coach for the San Francisco Giants from 1988 92, he was named manager of the Giants in 1993 and won the first of three National League Manager of the Year awards (1993, 1997 and 2000) in his first season.
After ten seasons with the Giants and a World Series appearance in 2002, Baker would manage the Chicago Cubs (2003-06), Cincinnati Reds (2008-13), Washington Nationals (2016-17) and Houston Astros (2020-23). Each of his teams reached the postseason, with the ’22 Astros winning the World Series. Baker ranks seventh on the all-time list with 2,183 wins (all eligible managers with 2,000 wins are in the Hall of Fame). He is the only manager in MLB history to lead five different teams to division titles.
Baker, who announced his retirement from the dugout on Oct. 25, 2023. On Jan. 18, it was announced that Baker would return to the San Francisco Giants as a special advisor to baseball operations.
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