With the Houston Astros loss to the Atlanta Braves in the 2021 World Series, Astros manager Dusty Baker - the second-oldest manager in Major League Baseball history to win a pennant at age 72 - remains the winningest manager without a World Series championship in MLB history.
Baker, who managed the Cincinnati Reds from 2008 to 2013, has 2,027 wins including the postseason. He returned to the World Series for the first time since he managed the San Francisco Giants in 2002.
"I have nothing but admiration for the Atlanta Braves. I wish it was me," Baker told FOX's Tom Verducci after the game. "Congratulations to Brian Snitker, the Braves organization and the city of Atlanta. And I'm proud of my guys. I'm proud of our guys big time because they were bombarded with a lot of negatives through the course of the year. It kind of wears you out. ... I just urged (our young guys) to just go back to work. Take a little break and then go back to work. And, you know, we have some unfinished business. Last year we were one game away from going to the World Series and this year we were two wins from winning the World Series. So we've had two pretty good years here. ... That's what you call progress."
Verducci asked Baker about his personal disappointment in coming up short.
"I'm personally disappointed. But I'm a guy that perseveres. You know what I mean?" Baker said. "I mean, you go home at night and you'll think about this disappointment but you've got to keep on striving for it. Certainly, I don't know how to quit. So like I said it's personally disappointing, but it's more disappointing for the guys in the locker room. And we're one. We're one with this team and we're one with the city."
From @ATTSportsNetSW via Twitter:
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