This may be the easiest pick I’ve made all year. 73-year-old Jonnie B. “Dusty” Baker captured his first (and long overdue) world championship in 2022. He led a loaded Astros roster to the best regular season record in the American League. He then tore through the playoffs, sweeping Seattle and the Yankees, only dropping two games to the red-hot Phillies in the World Series. His leadership returned the Astros to the top of the game following the cheating scandal that rocked the baseball community and cast doubt of over Houston’s 2017 championship.
Dusty Baker solidified an already historic legacy with the one achievement that has eluded him for years: the Word Series Championship. Baker joins Cito Gaston and Dave Roberts as the third Black man to manage a World Champion baseball team. He is the Black Baseball Mixtape Person of the Year!
