Reports indicate the Astros will hire Dusty Baker as the team’s new field manager:

Baker’s hiring is a sign the AL champions want to bring an old-school mentality and stern presence to a franchise reeling from the dismissal of Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow. Baker has 22 years of managerial experience, starting in 1993 with the San Francisco Giants.

Chron.com

I never thought of Baker as stern, just someone who commanded tremendous respect from his players. He does not seem like the kind of manager that would be concerned with spin rates and launch angles, but he’s also won’t be the kind of manager who would get in the way of players using that information.

Of course, Baker was one of many managers who turned a blind eye to the PED scandal of the 1990s. If MLB held managers to the same standard in that cheating era as they are now, Baker might have seen himself suspended for a year for allowing Barry Bonds (and who knows who else on the Giants) to be involved with BALCO. All in all, it’s a good hire from both a public relations standpoint and a player-manager relationship perspective.