Dusty Baker gets unusual retirement gift from Houston rapper
Jan 30, 2020; Houston, Texas, USA; Dusty Baker speaks after being announced as the Houston Astros manager during a press conference at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Even at 74 years old, Dusty Baker still has plenty of street cred.
Houston-area rapper Paul Wall posted a picture of himself posing with Baker to Instagram this week. Wall saluted Baker on his retirement as an MLB manager and revealed that he was getting Baker a pair of grillz as a retirement present.
“I wanna say congratulations to Dusty Baker on an amazing career,” Wall wrote in his caption. “Thank you for coming to manage the @astros It was an honor to watch you lead the Stros and make history!
“I wish you joy and blessings!” Wall added of Baker. “As a retirement present me and @johnnydangandco got some grillz ready for you.”
Baker just announced his retirement as an MLB manager after 26 seasons with five different teams (including three Manager of the Year Awards). He became the manager of the Astros in 2020 and led them to the ALCS in all four of his seasons with them, culminating with the first World Series title of Baker’s managerial career in 2022. Despite retiring as a skipper, Baker did say that he still plans to stick around baseball in a different capacity.
As for the grillz, they are a staple of hip-hop culture. Though Baker probably won’t be rocking the blinged-out smile in public any time soon, he is actually a much bigger hip-hop enthusiast than you might think.