Born on 15 June 1949, Johnnie B. “Dusty” Baker Jr. is a retired Major League Baseball (MLB) player and current manager in the MLB. He spent 19 years in the MLB playing with the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, and the Oakland Athletics. His playing career began in 1968 and ended in 1986, after which he started a coaching career.
Have you ever wondered how much Dusty Baker is worth, as of late 2016? According to authoritative sources, Baker’s net worth is estimated to be around $20 million, earned largely during his successful career as a player and a manager in the MLB.
Dusty Baker Net Worth $20 Million
Baker was born and raised in Riverside, California USA; he earned the nickname “Dusty” as a child, when he was frequently found eating dirt. Baker was the oldest of his four siblings, and therefore often found himself trying to take care of them all. Their father heavily encouraged the children to get involved in sports, and even served as a local Little League coach himself.
During his junior year, Baker’s family moved to Carmichea, where he attended Del Campo High School, and in which he and his siblings were the only black students. Despite excelling at every sport he tried, Baker faced racism everywhere. Still he powered through and impressed scouts from all across the country.
Baker planned on going to college on an athletic scholarship, but life had other plans for him. In June of 1967, just after he had matriculated from high school, the Atlanta Braves drafted him with their 26th pick. He decided to go with the Braves, and was sent to Austin, Texas to play for their minor league team. The next year he was on the Braves MLB team playing as an outfielder.
Baker found some success in the league, despite the chains of racism trying to hold him back. In 1976 he was signed by the Dodgers, and went on to win three League Championships with them (in 1977, 1978, and 1981), and he was also with the team during their World Series win in 1981. He also played on the National League All-Star team in 1981 and 1982, and all of these accomplishments strengthened his prowess as a baseball player and helped to further increase his net worth.
All in all, Baker spent eight seasons with the Atlanta Braves and eight seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also spent a year on the San Francisco Giants (in 1984), and two years with the Oakland Athletics (1985 and 1986). At the end of his career, Baker had scored 242 home runs, batted in 1,013 runs, and had a .278 batting average. In 1986, Baker ended his career as a player in the MLB.
He wasn’t done however, and returned two years later as a first base coach for the San Francisco Giants, and in 1993 he became their manager. Baker found enormous success as a manger, winning the NL Manager of the Year award during his very first season. He led the team to division titles in 1997 and 2000, as well as winning himself two more Manager of the Year awards. He also led the Giants to the 2002 World Series, but unfortunately they lost.
He subsequently managed various other teams through the years, including the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals; having a successful managerial career as well as a successful career as a player is rare, yet Baker has managed both, with both contributing significantly to his high net worth.
Regarding his personal life, he has been married to Melissa since 1994, and they have two children together. When he’s not busy managing the Nationals, Baker spends his time with a non-profit organization, Positive Coaching Alliance, which is focused on giving student athletes a positive, character-building environment. Dusty is also a member of the National Advisory Board for the group.
