It's been a tough year for you physically.

Yeah, it has.

Been a tough year, uh, you know, from the start.

Since January I've been injured, uh, had operation January, and it's been one thing or another, but, um, you know, God takes care of his own.

I always had confidence in my abilities and the fact that, uh, somehow, some way we were gonna come out, you know, and-

And you wanted to be in there tonight for the clincher, didn't you?

Yeah, well, I wanted to be in there tonight 'cause I feel better and the club feels better when I'm in the lineup, so, uh, um, I don't know, like it was just a matter, you know, like I felt in my heart today, you know, I wanted to play and I had to play.

Tell me about the wine, too, the Baker family wines.

Well, Baker family wines, we started, me and my winemaker, who I had met through Michael Mondavi.

I was on the advisory staff for a number of years, going to lunches and dinners with Cannondale and Southern Wine and Spirits, their distributors.

And so I said, hey, man, let me try this.

And there are very few African-Americans in the industry or in that business.

And so we started as a gentlemanly thing in my backyard.

And then we spread to San Francisco.

You know what I mean? Getting ready to...

Wines.

Well, Baker Family Wines, uh, we started, mm, me and my wine maker, you know, who I had met through, uh, uh, Michael Mondavi.

I was on the advisory staff for a number of years going to, uh, lunches and dinners with Canandaigua and Southern Wine and Spirits.

They're distributors.

And so I said, "Hey, man, you know, let me try this." And, and, and there are very few, uh, you know, African Americans in the industry or in, in, in that business.

And so, uh, um, uh, you know, we started as a gentlemanly thing in my backyard, and then we spread to, uh, um, um, uh, San Francisco, and then we came back to Sacramento.

And so we have nine varietals called, uh, you know, Baker Family Wines.

Do you feel-

Yeah.

Yeah, but, see, the thing about it is he was very disciplined, not only on the field, but off the field.

He worked hard.

A lot of times people think that he didn't, didn't take batting practice or didn't do this or that.

Well, a lot of times he'd get up in the morning and go work out-

[laughs]

You know? And so, like, uh, the thing about him is, man, he knew what was coming like Hank all the time.

He had total recall, you know, on everything.

How's it look?

Look, well, they gotta get the guys back.

You know what I mean? Until you can make a true assessment, I'm surprised they're hanging on the way they are hanging on.

But, you know, Tampa Bay has struggled a little bit lately, but-

I mean, what does, what does that mean to you when you hear that all the time? Nobody says a bad word about Dusty Baker.

I don't know.

You just try to treat people fairly.

I mean, you know, there's gotta be somebody don't like you, so you can't worry about that.

What is the secret to creating that special environment for young people in which they can flourish?

Uh, I think it's, uh, for me, I think it's very much around, um, the support that we give, um, and the, the, and enables them within an environment that they feel comfortable in.

We are used to dealing with youngsters all the time, so this, for us, is, uh, just an add-on.

Um, we've, uh, we've even had a, um, competi- well, a mother ring to say that her daughter can't, isn't actually competing, but she wants to come with the team and help.

So, it, for me, that, that's brilliant.

So the more we get like that is just fantastic, and we, with our students, one of my biggest keys has always been, I've been here 24 years.

[laughs] Um, one of my key things has always been that we are here to show the youngsters how things, they can do things, how they can develop, how they can aspire to things.

Um, the hub is the area where everybody will be able to congregate and play games and that sort of thing.

I hope to, but tell me a little bit about it and tell folks what they can expect when they pick up a copy.

Well, that talks about my life.

Southern California first, that's where I was born.

Then I moved to Northern California when I was 15.

Then I signed pro baseball when I was 18.

It just goes into my personal life, my baseball life, some ups, some downs.

It's called Crossroads because I had to make some major decisions from the very, very beginning.

Do you have a favorite Davey Lopes story? You probably included at least one or two Davey Lopes stories in your book.

What did she do to keep you straight, to keep you focused, and just keep the love in your life?

Well, yeah.

I mean, it's easy.

You know, love of moms most of the time.

Actually, my dad's one kept me straight.

You know, I could get away with stuff with my mom.

I'm like, come here, Mom.

my

You're not even a Major League Baseball player if not for Hank Aaron, right?

True that.

And, uh, well, I, I might have been, but I probably wouldn't have been with the Braves.

And, uh, and I don't know if I'd have been drafted at all 'cause the Braves took a chance and drafted me.

And, uh, uh, you know, uh, Bill White, uh, you know, who was, uh, working under Paul Richards at the time as a general...

Bill, you know, Bill White was a scout, Paul Richards was a, was, uh, you know, the GM.

And, uh, you know, Paul gave him, uh, carte blanche to try to sign me even though, uh, I was a 25th round draft choice.

To wanna go out and meet people, to wanna go out and be more well-rounded than just being known as a baseball player.

Mm.

And then, and then when it comes back to life and you think about the feelings, you think about the hurts, but you also think about the joys that you had in your life and, uh, and, and, and some of the joys came, you know, right after the hurts, you know? When it looked like it was a, an impossible situation, uh, and then things got, got bright.

And, uh, when I was walking through the, uh, Hawaii Healing Center that I went to, mm, 23 years ago when I had cancer, but I just went back.

I go back every year.

But a couple years ago, I went back and I was walking this trail, they have a bunch of these, uh, um, um, shrines, like 63 s- uh, uh, shrines on, on this series of cutback through the mountain.

And I was just, you know, thinking about my life and thinking about, hey, man, I...

This period I was in LA, it was a smooth sailing for about 10 years.

Hmm.

Any regrets?

Uh, no, not really.

No, I don't have any regrets.

I mean, my whole life was, you know, was a blessing.

Good, bad, indifferent or whatever, because all these situations and things that happen, you know, just didn't happen by, you know, coincidence.

You know, that's why I said I was blessed to the point where I was thrust into situations that I didn't want to be in.

And whenever I just went along with the program of my destiny, it would always work out good.

Hey, Skip, what's going on? And but it's like, but I never played for Dusty, but we still have this

No, but what do you see? If you had to pick one thing that is the biggest difference from when you started to present, what is that?

Hmm.

Probably less feel for the game.

You know, more game by the numbers, more game by, you know, the pregame strategy that never goes all the way through whatever that you strategized about.

And, you know, some spontaneity.

And sometimes the feeling is like, okay, this guy's going to get a hit.

Or, hey, nah, this guy, I don't like this matchup right here.

Anyone in the book that's not a huge... that has been a huge part of your life that's not like a household name that we'd all know

Hey, Skip, what's going on? And but it's like, but I never played for Dusty, but we still have this little.

Yeah, we got one thing you got to remember.

Look, look, one thing you got to remember, Bonnie, I saw you probably three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine years old.

And as a kid, you and your brothers, I'm telling you.

And I was always, you know, I love my daughter.

You know, my daughter and son are 20 years apart.

OK.

No, but what do you see? If you had to pick one thing that is the biggest difference from when you started to present, what is that?

Yeah.

But I was matured, I, I, I matured and became a man on the Dodgers, and we won.

And, uh, you know, uh, the... and there was a Dodger way.

I remember one time, I miss- I first got to the Dodgers, I missed a cutoff, man, and Davey Lopes came over to me and said, "Hey, we don't play baseball like that here." And then I said, "Hey man, you don't tell me what to do." And here comes Bill Russell, and here comes Joe Ferguson, and after about [laughs] five minutes there was like s- eight guys surrounding me.

And I'm like...

And Al Campanis is just gi- giving me the book, The Dodger Way to Play Baseball.

And I'm like, "Man, I ain't reading this book.

S-

... over the years?

Well, I, I try not to give too much advice.

I'm not an expert on, on life by any means.

But I, I've had a lot of, uh, great teachers and a lot of mentors who, you know, whom I wanted to give credit for giving things to me.

And there was a time I had, I, I wanted no part of baseball.

There was a time I didn't wanna be a coach, I didn't wanna be a manager or anything.

And, uh, my dad, uh, uh, I was gonna go off, you know, live out in the country or the woods someplace, and my dad said that, that the Lord wouldn't have put me in a situation to have been around so many great people and greats that, uh, uh, you know, to take it a- and run away with it, 'cause it wasn't mine to possess.

S-

But how would you respond?

Well, I would respond, thank you for the information that I received.

but I would have done exactly what I did because I was thinking not only from experience on almost every team I had been on, I was thinking from my experience when I went to the high school and I saw what animosity it caused because they had a quarterback when I went there and then all of a sudden they made me the quarterback and then my dad is the one who told me, he said, son, you need to be a running back to be the quarterback.

You know what I mean? And so, you know, I use that example of a new guy in school, you know, because that would have disrupted the whole apple cart.

And, you know, Will was a star before Barry got there.

I mean, Barry was a better player.

I mean, he was the best player in the game.

My question is, when did you realize that he was with you whether you knew it or not? When did that become a reality? You know what? I missed it, but now I get it.

But how would you respond?

Well, I would respond, thank you for the information that I received.

but I would have done exactly what I did because I was thinking not only from experience on almost every team I had been on, I was thinking from my experience when I went to the high school and I saw what animosity it caused because they had a quarterback when I went there and then all of a sudden they made me the quarterback and then my dad is the one who told me, he said, son, you need to be a running back to be the quarterback.

You know what I mean? And so, you know, I use that example of a new guy in school, you know, because that would have disrupted the whole apple cart.

And, you know, Will was a star before Barry got there.

I mean, Barry was a better player.

I mean, he was the best player in the game.

My question is, when did you realize that he was with you whether you knew it or not? When did that become a reality? You know what? I missed it, but now I get it.

and it

helped that I had, you know, a couple players on the team that were older.

Well, everybody was older, almost every team I was on.

I was called a kid from the very, very beginning.

But to have Hank Aaron, Ralph Garr, and especially, you know, Cito Gaston, who was a little bit older than Ralph and myself, you know, to help us do these things, you know, to tell us where to go or where not to go or which part of town to go in.

white or black, because sometimes you'd go to this part of town and they could tell you weren't from there.

Or you'd go over to the other part of town and they knew definitely that you were not from there.

And, Dusty, how much did playing for the Dodgers open up some of the doors to some of the incredible heads of state, musicians, actors that you became friends with?

And, Dusty, how much did playing for the Dodgers open up some of the doors to some of the incredible heads of state, musicians, actors that you became friends with?

Well, you know, when I played with Atlanta, that's when I really met most of the heads of state.

And, you know, I'm I met most of the black leaders because Hank Aaron was, you know, was going for the record.

So a lot of people wanted Hank around or they were coming around.

In Atlanta, you know, there was Maynard Jackson, there was Andrew Young, there was Jimmy Carter, let me see, Ted Abernathy, and just many, many more, you know.

And a lot of entertainers in the South especially, you know, Gladys Knight and James Brown and all these people were coming around to see Hank.

And I happened to be there when I got to L.A., then you saw a different side of entertainment.

How did you not allow L.A. to swallow you up, and you still remained focused that baseball was number one, and if you didn't perform in baseball, nobody would care about this other stuff?

Yeah, he was on the podcast a couple of years ago.

Oh, right.

Hey, Murph, Murph wouldn't let me in the clubhouse.

And he met me at the door and he goes, where are you going, kid? And I said, I'm on the team.

He goes, I'm on the team to get lost.

And so I'm staying outside and I'm waiting on somebody to come by.

And so Mr. Busby came by the outfield coach and he goes, he says, Dusty, what are you doing out there? I said, this guy won't let me in.

Hank's

Dusty, for everybody out there that goes out and gets the book, when you wrote it, what did you want or what do you want the readers to get from reading your book?

Well, probably get to, you know, to other people.

But basically, you know, I want people to help themselves and help others by it because, you know, right now, You know, love is at a premium and hatred is everywhere.

So, you know, that's what I hope that they get is to, you know, to realize we're all in this together, you know, and everybody has some of the same things in their family and their past and just different things that, that's happened to everybody.

And so, uh, you know, I really want them to get hope and to realize that perseverance is the key.

Cause there's a lot of kids I talked to a lot of, uh, and even adults that, you know, nowadays it's, it's, it's become a prevalent to, you know, to either murder somebody or, or commit suicide.

And it's like, Hey man, it's not that bad because it seems that bad while you're in it.

What would you be willing to share with us about what it was like to manage Barry Bonds?

Are you satisfied with how the book turned out?

Well, you know, I'm kind of my own worst critic and I always have been, you know, whether it's in school or whether it's in relationships or whether it's playing ball.

So, but I did proofread it.

You know, that was some of the toughest part of writing a book is that you have to proofread it over and over and over and over to make sure that you got your message across, to make sure that you were as honest as possible.

And like you said, without telling on anybody or exposing yourself too much, because there are some things that need to remain private.

But at the same time, we have to be honest.

And another tough part in writing a book is when they give you 60 pictures.

So why did you choose to write this book?

Are you satisfied with how the book turned out?

Well, you know, I'm kind of my own worst critic and I always have been, you know, whether it's in school or whether it's in relationships or whether it's playing ball.

So, but I did proofread it.

You know, that was some of the toughest part of writing a book is that you have to proofread it over and over and over and over to make sure that you got your message across, to make sure that you were as honest as possible.

And like you said, without telling on anybody or exposing yourself too much, because there are some things that need to remain private.

But at the same time, we have to be honest.

And another tough part in writing a book is when they give you 60 pictures.

So why did you choose to write this book?

You have to feel blessed to be around those guys and for those guys to take you under your wing.

Yeah, well, they all did.

I mean, they liked me for whatever reason.

You know, I tried to be respectful.

They thought I could play.

And there were times when Hank Aaron would ask me, did I understand? And I'd always say yes.

And then he could tell by looking on my face and in my eyes that I didn't understand.

Did that something you just developed over the years? I've never seen anyone with more connections than you.

So what, what does it mean to be a baseball manager?

Well, to be a manager, you, you, you, um, you know, you're running the team, but without running it in a dictator type, you know, situation or feeling.

Um, you know, you're running every department, whether it's pitching, hitting, fielding, base running, but you have to let people do their jobs.

You have to let pe- you, you know, you can't micromanage everything, but you have to know a little bit, uh, you know, about, uh, every facet of the game.

Uh, granted, we, you know, we all have like, uh, uh, specialties.

You know, my, m- mine was more hitting, uh, uh, outfield play.

You know, I didn't know much about infield play.

Will you tell about it?