After years of heartbreak, Dusty Baker finally caught his white whale. The Houston Astros manager won his first World Series ring after his team knocked out the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6. Behind the heroics of sensational rookie Jeremy Pena and star slugger Yordan Alvarez, Houston finally nabbed their first trophy after the controversial 2017 win.
As it turns out, though, the connection between Jeremy Pena and Dusty Baker goes way, WAY back. The now-Astros manager first started his coaching career in 1993 with the San Francisco Giants. The first team he ever faced was the St. Louis Cardinals. The leadoff hitter for that 1993 Cardinals team? Geronimo Pena, the father of Jeremy Pena. (via Christopher Kamka)
“Dusty Baker's managerial debut 4/6/1993 vs Cardinals. The St. Louis leadoff hitter? Geronimo Peña – Jeremy's dad.”
After an up and down regular season, Jeremy Pena stepped up in a huge way for the Astros in the playoffs. With Jose Altuve struggling all series long, the rookie shortstop found his footing and nabbed base hit after base hit. His ability to get on base helped set-up the rest of Dusty Baker's formidable hitting group for success. That made him an easy winner of the World Series MVP.
As for Dusty Baker, the Astros manager finally got the pesky World Series monkey off of his back. The long-time manager took over as the skipper for Houston in 2021, and he immediately led them to the Finals in his first year. After a heartbreaking 2021 campaign, Baker conquered his playoff demons and helped lead the Astros on one of the most dominant postseason runs in recent memory. Now, he can finally call himself a World Series champion both as a player and a manager.
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