The Houston Astros suffered a crushing defeat in the 2023 MLB Playoffs against the Texas Rangers, as they ended up blowing a 3-2 lead in the ALCS to watch their World Series defeat come to a screeching halt. Shortly after their season ended, it became clear that manager Dusty Baker's stint with the team would be coming to an end as well.

Baker has enjoyed an extremely successful stint with the Astros as their manager, as he led the team to the ALCS in each of his four seasons, and won a World Series in 2022, which was his first championship as a manager. Despite all the winning he experienced with Houston, it sounds like the veteran manager is still trying to get over his squads' loss to the Rangers.

Via Bob Nightengale:

“Dusty Baker says it will take time to get over the ALCS loss to the Rangers, and was really hoping to repeat as World Series champions before stepping down.”

Dusty Baker still accomplished quite a bit during his time with the Astros

Dusty Baker with Globe Life Park in the background

It sounds like Baker was planning on stepping down as the Astros manager one way or another, and he wanted to leave the game on top as a champion. While he didn't accomplish that, Baker still had an extremely strong stint with the Astros. He led them to a championship in 2022 as previously noted, and they made it to the ALCS in each of his four seasons in charge.

Baker won't get his final wish of his managerial career, but that shouldn't take away from what he managed to do with the Astros, or really any of the four other teams he managed throughout his career. Baker is a surefire legend of the game of baseball, and while he's still upset over how his time with the Astros came to an end, many fans aren't going to hold that against him, which means he shouldn't hold it against himself either.