The legendary Astros manager cites “fights” in the front office as the reason for his departure

This season brought some changes for the Houston Astros.

After four years in which they were managed by legendary captain Dusty Baker, he made the decision to retire following their exit from the American League Championship Series.

It seemed like signs were clear that he would retire at the end of the 2023 season, and when that officially happened, information emerged sporadically about why he ultimately resigned.

Well, Baker has released a little more information about his retirement.

“Some of the battles with the front office that I've had for a number of years sometimes lead to you getting tired of fighting with City Hall over something you're sure about,” he said during his appearance The Show with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman.

Some of these “battles” he refers to have been well documented.

The Astros largely lamented the way he used certain players, particularly when it came to his decision to continue playing catcher Martin Maldanado in place of star rookie Yainer Diaz despite the veteran's struggles at the plate.

However, it's hard to argue with the results Baker has produced on the field.

In addition to winning the World Series in 2022, he also made it to the American League Championship Series four straight times, increasing his AL record to seven, and also won three of four AL West titles.

The disagreements over playing time were likely much more pronounced than just the conflict over the catcher position, and according to Baker, that wasn't the only thing he had a problem with during his tenure.

“The only thing that bothered me a little is that I only picked one person in my team… That was AJ Hinch's team, everyone was there except one. We had a (blueprint) on how to win, but I wish “I could have had more freedom in choosing my employees,” he added.

This whole situation remains interesting.

It's becoming increasingly clear that Baker and the front office were out of step, particularly toward the end of his tenure when Dana Brown took over as manager.

The good news for Houston is that new captain Joe Espada and the front office appear to be much more aligned, which will hopefully allow the entire organization to pull together.