Baker Is Still Worried About The Bases Being Clogged

August 24, 2006 by cubsnet

That Dusty Baker would repeat one of the most mind-boggling statements in major league baseball history is itself mind-boggling. MLB.com's Carrie Muskat reports:

Do the Cubs need to improve their on-base percentage next year? They currently rank last in the National League with a .318 OBP.

"On-base percentage is great if you can score runs and do something with that on-base percentage," Baker said. "Clogging up the bases isn't that great to me. The problem we have to address more than anything is the home run problem."

(Emphasis added.) In March 2004, Baker said, "I think walks are overrated unless you can run. If you get a walk and put the pitcher in a stretch, that helps, but the guy who walks and can’t run, most of the time he’s clogging up the bases for somebody who can run."

Baker is certainly right that the Cubs need to improve their power. A full season of Derrek Lee will help.

But no matter the virtures a person may have as a manager, in my mind, these statements, representing a lack of understanding of something as important as avoiding outs, automatically disqualifies that person from managing or coaching at the professional level.

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