By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
OCT. 28, 2022 | It’s World Series time again, and I’m excited about the Houston Astros meeting the Philadelphia Phillies in the fall spectacle. We’re pulling for Dusty Baker to finally get a World Series ring!
Yes, it was disappointing to see the Atlanta Braves eliminated from the playoffs, but what a season they had! Continuing the streak and winning their fifth division title, they were in first place, I think it was, for only two days. But by beating the New York Mets one more time than the Mets beat the Braves, the Braves came out on top.
But how about them Astros! Winning 106 games in the regular season, they now have won seven playoff games in a row, forming the best record this year in winning so far 113 games.
And they not only beat the San Diego Padres three games to one, they then made it to the Series by flabbergasting the New York Yankees in four straight games!
Meanwhile, the Braves’ nemesis, the Philadelphia Phillies, made it to the second round after losing two in Atlanta to the Braves, then returned to Philadelphia and eliminated the Braves as they won three straight. Then they defeated the Padres in five games to make it to the Series.
Baker, via Wikipedia.
We remember that Dusty Baker started his major league career as an outfielder with the Braves, and played here for eight years. He was a regular for eight years with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and finished his last three years as a player with San Francisco (1) and Oakland (2). In those 19 seasons, he had a .282 batting average , including 242 home runs.
He’s been a baseball manager with San Francisco, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati, Washington and for the last three years in Houston. In 25 years as a manager, he’s won 2,093 games, a percentage of .539. He’s been manager of the year in the National League three times, and runner-up three times.
But Dusty Baker, now 73, has never won with a team in the World Series. He’s getting attention these days, with lots of fans pulling for his Astro team. Baker is known for his skill in handling players, being able to get the best out of them, while maintaining a calm, relaxed demeanor during games.
He’ll have a lot of people pulling for him and his Astros to win this 2022 World Series.
The Phillies in 2022 have put together a winning team because of one major element: money. They have the fourth highest payroll in major league baseball, according to the Boardroom (August). The top ten:
- Los Angeles Dodgers $265,396,675
- New York Mets $261,273,320
- New York Yankees $251,899,255
- Philadelphia Phillies $242,215,746
- San Diego Padres $220,849,135
- Boston Red Sox $207,710,905
- Chicago White Sox $196,381,026
- Houston Astros $182,896,299
- Atlanta Braves $181,813,470
- Los Angeles Angels $169,413,094
As a comparison, the lowest major league baseball payroll of the 30 teams is in Baltimore, where the Orioles spend only $43,645,896 a year on payroll. Surprisingly, a playoff team, the Cleveland Guardians, have the 27th lowest, at $67,827,391. The 29th and 28th teams are in Oakland and Pittsburgh.
The Series starts Friday in Houston for two games, then has three games planned in Philadelphia, and the final two, if needed, back in Houston.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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