Dusty Baker leaned on great quote in handling Justin Verlander

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

Justin Verlander battled through five innings to get his first career World Series win in Game 5 Thursday, and part of that was down to manager Dusty Baker’s faith in his ace. Baker’s handling of his starter can apparently be partly credited to some old wisdom he received in his younger days.

The Houston Astros manager revealed after Thursday’s win that he drew from an old quote by longtime pitcher Tommy John when determining how to handle Verlander. According to Baker, John had once told him that good pitchers could escape two jams a game and great pitchers could escape three, and those words stuck in Baker’s mind.

Dusty Baker said Tommy John used to tell him a so-so pitcher can get out of trouble once in a game, a good pitcher twice and a great pitcher three times. He said he was thinking about Tommy John's words as he left Justin Verlander out there to battle tonight.

— Matt Young (@Chron_MattYoung) November 4, 2022

Baker’s explanation certainly checks out when you look at the box score. Verlander put three runners on in the second, two in the third, and also pitched around a two-out double in the fifth. Baker pulled him after that, with Verlander having thrown 94 high-stress pitches.

Verlander is a future Hall-of-Famer and had certainly earned his manager’s trust. That was pretty clear even before the game. Baker’s faith was warranted, and Verlander made sure it was rewarded as well.