World Series has Phillies' no-name manager vs. Astros' favorite grandpa | Michael Arace
And then there were two: The Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies emerged from the weekend as the American League and National League champions, and they will meet in the World Series, which begins Friday in Houston. Ol’ Dusty is about to match wits with “Topper.”
The New York Yankees and LA Dodgers are gone, and while that is bothersome to the powers that be in the MLB front office, which craves marquee matchups and big-market ratings, well, good riddance to the Yankees and Dodgers, who had a combined payroll of a half billion. All Sit.
This week, on the Philly side of things, much hype will center on Bryce Harper. And rightfully so. Harper signed a monster, 13-year, $330 million contract to chase a World Series in the City of Brotherly Love. Through 11 playoff games, he’s hitting .419 with five home runs, 11 RBIs and a 1.31 OPS. Dang. Sunday evening, his two-run homer lifted the Phillies to a series-clinching, 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres in Game 5 of the NLDS.
As for the Astros, they won 106 games during the regular season and they’re 7-0 in the playoffs. USA Today baseball writer Gabe Lacques describes them as a “perfect team … a stunning combination of seasoned veterans and talented upstarts, backed by a pitching staff where bullpen stalwarts have had to take a number, so deep is their dominance.”
There is a biblical struggle in the offing, with the 87-win Phillies being carried by Harper against the “perfect” Astros. Philly went 11 years between pennants. The Astros, who’ve made it to the tournament final for the fourth time in six years, are still trying to rub off the taint of their 2017 World Series victory, which was sullied by a cheating scandal.
In the wake of all that disgustingness, one of the game’s grand gentlemen, Dusty Baker, was called in to disinfect the Astros’ clubhouse. As Game 1 of the World Series approaches, it is the managerial matchup of ol’ Dusty against Philly’s Rob Thompson that promises to be among the most compelling storylines. The one has spent 54 of his 73 years in MLB as a player and manager. The other couldn’t be picked out of a lineup by a casual fan.
Baker has won more games (2,093) than any manager not to win a World Series. He won a division title with five different teams. He has won pennants in both the AL and the NL and is making his third appearance in the Fall Classic. Although he once had a rep for burning out pitchers, he has never been less than a beautiful man who has lived a wonderful life.
Baker got his nickname as a toddler, because he liked to play in the dirt. He was on deck when Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run in 1974. He is credited with being the co-inventor, with Glenn Burke, of the high five in 1977. He had a terrific career as a player, driving in 1,013 runs over 13 seasons. Is in his decades as a manager, his comfort level within his own skin has never dissipated.
Baker is a pianist, wine connoisseur and noted grill master. As a recent piece in Rolling Stone magazine noted: He was at the Monterey Pop festival when rock legend Jimi Hendrix set his guitar on fire in 1967; he met Hendrix, knew blues icon John Lee Hooker and also digs rap; he hangs out with the Northern Cheyenne tribe in Montana, who call him “Brave Eagle.”
Baker might be the coolest grandfather in the world.
Then, there is Thompson, 59, who never made it past Class A as a catcher. He spent most of his career with the Yankees as a minor league manager, major league field coordinator, bench coach and third-base coach and earned the nickname “Topper.” Because he’s on top of everything.
As former Yankees manager and Hall of Famer Joe Torre explained to a reporter in Philadelphia: “He was very organized. He lived at the ballpark. He was there all the time. I’d get to the park in spring training by a quarter to 7 and he was already there finishing his work. … And he was a stickler for precision.”
Thompson joined Gabe Kapler’s staff when Kapler was hired in Philadelphia in 2018. Thompson stayed on when Joe Girardi took over prior to this season. Thompson took over as an interim when Girardi was fired in early June, at which point the Phillies were 22-29. Thompson had the “interim” tag removed after a 65-46 finish.
Thompson is the first Canadian in eight decades to manage in the majors. He is the first manager to take a team that was at least seven games under .500 and lead it to the World Series.
An observation: If you’ve seen how Thompson has handled these Phillies in the postseason, particularly in Games 3 and 5 of the NLCS, you understand that he is fearless in doing the job as he sees it − which is winning the game in front of him, and tomorrow be damned.
That is the way to do it.
Phillies at Astros
When: TBD FridayTV: Ch. 28
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Who has edge on bench in World Series: Philadelphia or Houston?
