Dusty Baker Earn Quotations

We didn't just give him the job. He earned it.

If you rescue him every time, you'll have to rescue him all the time. If you leave him out there, you learn about them or they become a pitcher by coming through. He can say, 'I can handle the situation,' but until you've been in the situation, you don't know if you can handle it or not.

You know how I feel about the guy -- I love the guy. I would've loved to have played with him, and behind him. I've enjoyed watching him here with us. He's one of the few guys I've had who has earned the right -- and you know he's not going to abuse the right -- to call his own shots. This guy is a pro. You don't know he's around. He never boasts or brags.

The one outing doesn't necessarily put him in there or delete him from it. He'll have quite a few more outings before we make a decision. We'll evaluate him on his progress. He said he learned from it and it won't happen again. He was upset at himself at how he pitched.

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 not going to call up a lot of players. We'll try to call up guys who deserve it and guys who have had good years and merit being called up. We're not in the giveaway business -- we're in the earning business.

If you don't see them, you're not going to learn how to hit them.

You learn the hard way then. We had a long discussion last night. The thing about temperament, which you guys don't believe, but I was very similar. You have to constantly work on it as a person.

He means a lot to us and a lot to the city and the organization. He's earned it, and it couldn't have happened to a finer guy.

I have learned from hamstrings that when a guy says he feels good, you give him a couple extra days. Invariably, you top a ball and have to beat it out. It happens every time.

Ordinarily, they'd be in charge of catching kids their age and the young guys. Now they're on the fast learning curve. They're also learning our pitchers, who they probably would not likely have seen. They're also learning the other hitters in this league. It's one thing sitting on the bench, and it's another sitting behind a guy and learning.

It embarrassed me into learning how to get the signs,

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.

He doesn't fool around out there, does he? He gets the ball and throws it. This guy learned how to put different pressure points on the ball to make the ball move. This guy is the best I've ever seen.

He's earned it. It couldn't happen to a finer young man. The whole city of Sacramento is probably proud of him.

I like his approach. Anybody who can hit the ball up the middle and to the opposite field is going to hit. He'll learn how to hit with power. If he can hit balls to right field, he has power.

This is the youngest team I've had, which is what I've been yearning for really for years now. The younger the team, sometimes the more mistakes, but the more open and willing they are to be taught how to play. It seems like the older players are set in their ways.

I think he can become a very good player. He can hit, he can run, I think his power is coming, especially when you're strong in the lower half -- that's where the power comes from. You have to learn how to do it, how to use it without abusing it and losing what got you here which is base hits.

I like a lot about him. I like his speed, like his attitude, he switch-hits, he plays all outfield positions, he asks good questions, he's hungry to learn and he enjoys playing.