I miss Dusty Baker. Not as much as the Washington Nationals seem to miss him, but quite a bit.



Baker, 69, was a teammate of Hank Aaron’s. He managed Barry Bonds and Bryce Harper. He spent nearly a half-century in baseball, offering perspective others lacked, at times transcending the sport.



The Nationals declined to retain him after last season, leaving Baker with a career managerial record of 1,863-1,636 — a .532 winning percentage. He went to the postseason nine times with four different clubs, and also managed a 103-win team in his first season with the San Francisco Giants that failed to make the playoffs. He was also quite accomplished as a player, hitting 242 homers and producing a .779 OPS over 19 seasons without ever going on the disabled list.



Often when issues arise in the game, I wonder, “What would Dusty think?” In early July, a number of such issues had surfaced, including the plight of the Nationals, who were struggling...