It was Dusty Baker’s secret ritual after virtually every home game when he managed the Houston Astros, but one night, he was caught red-handed by Astros infielder Mauricio Dubon.
Dubon, who was in his car, couldn’t believe what he was seeing, and quietly approached Baker.
Baker, startled, told Dubon he has been doing this for years, but pleaded with him not to tell a soul. It’s a secret he desperately wanted to keep.
Baker, with zero fanfare, fed the homeless every night after Astros games. He would take the leftover food in the clubhouse that normally would be thrown away, drove out of the parking lot, and stopped under the Interstate 69 underpass.
He would get out of his truck, take out the food that he put in packages, and gave it to the homeless. Other times he would drive downtown, and look for a woman he called, “Mama,’’ who lived in a cardboard box. She would disperse the servings of food to other homeless.
“I was driving home and saw him do that one night,’’ said Dubon, now an infielder with Atlanta “and I couldn’t believe it. But Dusty promised me I wouldn’t tell anyone. He didn’t want any publicity. He didn’t want any cameras. He didn’t want to embarrass the homeless.
“That’s what kind of man he was, someone who was so instrumental to my career, and really in my life. I’ll never forget him. That man believed in me before I believed in myself. I’ll always be grateful for what he did for me.’’
Baker, who said the Astros discouraged him from feeding the homeless in case someone got sick, possibly leaving them open to a lawsuit, but refused to stop. It made him feel good knowing what it meant for the homeless, sharing the same high-quality food the ballplayers ate each night.
It also made him think of his late brother, Vic, who suffered from manic depression and was homeless himself, dying in 2019 at the age of 63.
“Every time I fed them,’’ Baker says, “I would think of Vic. And when I went downtown, I would give four or five meals to 'Mama,' who lived in a well-kept homeless person box. She took pride in what she had. I would give her the food, maybe five or six meals, and she would divvy it out.
“I didn’t think she even knew who I was, but one time we lost, and she said, 'Dusty, ya’ll have got to play better than that.' I was busted.’’
The story can now be shared with Baker, 76, now working as a special adviser for the San Francisco Giants. He wrote his autobiography, "Crossroads," with author Steve Kettman, which will be released on June 9 by Crown Publishing.
Baker talks about life growing up in Riverside and Sacramento, California, signing with Atlanta in 1968 against his father’s wishes, mentored by the iconic Hank Aaron, a playing career that resulted in a 1981 World Series championship, a stellar managerial career which should result in a Hall of Fame election in December, and a life in which he had perhaps the widest array of friends of anyone in baseball from presidents, dignitaries, musicians, and yes, the homeless.
“The Lord wouldn’t have put me all of those places in my life, and at different times for no reason,’’ Baker tells USA TODAY Sports. “My dad used to tell me, 'It’s not yours to possess, it’s your position to share and help others.' You re-live some of the stuff that you’ve suppressed, bringing to the forefront. There’s stuff you need to talk about, not only for yourself, but other people.
“A lot of people need some hope and lessons in perseverance. A lot of people out there are hurting. I’d like to be an inspiration to those people.’’
The book took two years to write, and hundreds of hours of interviews with Kettman, pouring out his emotions, piece by piece.
“Things that have been on my mind a long time,’’ Baker says. “Sometimes you get tired of being politically correct all of the time. So, I got to say what I feel. If you’re 80, people look at you like you’re some bitter old man because you’re telling the truth.
“Sometimes, people have what they call unresolved anger. Sometimes, it comes out after being in there for a long time. It doesn’t come out very much, but sometimes you need to clear your soul and your spirit. And every once in a while, you don’t feel your spirit.
“That scares me when I don’t feel it, so I cleansed it.’’
Baker wanted to make sure that he didn’t come across as bitter or angry in the book, but wanted to share his life experiences, knowing that it would not only help people understand who he is, but also be an inspiration.
“I had to really look back on some parts of my life that are painful,’’ Baker said. “I wanted to do that with honesty and grace. I never wanted to come across as an angry man because that is not who I am. Yes, I have anger in me, but it comes out only if I’m provoked.’’
Baker, the only man to manage five different teams to the postseason, insists he is done managing in major-league baseball, although he is open to the 2028 Olympics. He put the uniform on for the first time since the 2023 MLB season this spring when he managed Nicaragua in the World Baseball Classic after close friends George Santiago and Marvin Benard told him what it would mean to the country.
Baker loved every minute of it, and even though they failed to get out of pool play, he wouldn’t trade the experience for the world.
“I really, really enjoyed it,’’ Baker said, “even though we didn’t win. The Nicaraguans are such good people. They showed me so much love. It meant a lot to me with [political activist] Marcus Garvey and all of the history there.
“I’m motivated to go out back and help them with their program. They’re on their way, and I’d love to be part of it.’’
For now, Baker is hoping to do his part in helping turn around the Giants’ franchise. They haven’t had a winning season since 2021, and after leaving spring training with lofty hopes that they can return to the postseason, they have gotten off to a 5-8 start, and are in last place in the NL West.
While rookie manager Tony Vitello, the first person to go directly from the college ranks to being an MLB manager, is the one taking the most heat, Baker preaches patience. He believes it will turn.
Besides, he says, considering the Giants’ schedule to open the season, did anyone really think they’d get off to a torrid start. The Giants’ first 13 games have been against the New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies, with the Baltimore Orioles and Cincinnati Reds on deck.
“You’re always looking at the schedule when you’re a manager,’’ Baker said, “and that’s a tough stretch of games, especially coming out of spring training. There are so many uncertainties with the lineup, the bullpen, the starting staff. It takes time.
“It’s tough, too, when you’re a first-year manager because people don’t know what to expect. Most managers have a track record, so it gives you more leeway. But Tony will be all right.
“The big thing now for him is to not look at the past. You can’t change what happened. Just get back to .500, and then you can take a deep breath and go from there.’’
Besides, Baker knows a first-year manager who wound up doing all right for himself.
Baker had no managerial experience when he was hired by the Giants before the 1993 season. He won 103 games his first year, and wound up winning 2,183 games over 26 seasons, reaching the postseason 13 times, including the last four seasons of his career.
He is expected to be elected in December to Baseball’s Hall of Fame by the contemporary era committee, along with Bruce Bochy, who won three World Series championships with the Giants. It could be quite the Giants celebration next summer with Buster Posey, Giants' president of baseball operations, also expected to be voted in by the BBWAA in January.
Baker has too much going on to even think about that for now, but he did make it clear that no matter what happens, “Crossroads’’ will stand on its own.
“This is a long book already, and I know I still left out a lot of stuff,’’ Baker says. “But I don’t like sequels. So, this is it.
“I put a lot of effort into it, so I hope people enjoy it.’’
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dusty Baker pens autobiography as Baseball Hall of Fame beckons
