SF Giants pull off big reunion hire

Sep 15, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; General view of a San Francisco Giants cap and glove during the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants have completed a reunion more than two decades in the making.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported Monday that the Giants have hired Dusty Baker to their front office. Baker will be serving as a special assistant for the Giants, working with president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and also assisting Larry Baer on the ownership side, Nightengale adds.

The 75-year-old Baker just retired as a manager after a very successful stint in charge of the Houston Astros, one that included two AL pennants and a World Series win in 2022. But his history with the Giants runs even deeper. Baker played for the Giants back in 1984 and had his first-ever manager job with the team from 1993-2002. While Baker won three Manager of the Year Awards in San Francisco, captured two division titles, and made the World Series in 2002, he left the Giants before the 2003 season amid reported tensions with then-owner Peter Magowan (who died in 2019).

But Baker does have a good relationship with Baer, who officially serves as the president and CEO of the Giants. Baker had strongly hinted in recent weeks that a reunion was imminent, and now his grand return to the Bay Area is officially upon us.