Dusty Baker wants to be 1st black manager in Hall of Fame

WASHINGTON -- Dusty Baker is one of only two African-American managers in Major League Baseball. He wants to be the first one in the Hall of Fame.

"I thought about it when I started passing guys that were already in the Hall of Fame," the Nationals manager said after his team's Tuesday afternoon workout in Washington, D.C. "Every day in Cincinnati, I was passing somebody that was in the Hall of Fame already, so yeah, I'd like to be the first African-American manager in the Hall of Fame."

Now in his 21st season as a manager, Baker ranks second among active managers and 17th all-time with 1,766 career wins. Among current skippers, only San Francisco's Bruce Bochy (1,789) has more. Of the 23 managers inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame, there are 11 who have fewer wins than Baker, including Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda, who spent his first eight seasons managing Baker during his playing days in Los Angeles.

Rookie skipper Dave Roberts is the only other active African-American manager. Roberts' Dodgers and Baker's Nationals will square off in the National League Division Series starting this Friday in Washington, D.C.

"He's where I was 20 years ago," Baker said of Roberts on Tuesday. "I'm happy for him, big-time. I know him, but I really don't know him. I know him from across the field, and I know him from one of my players, Rich Aurilia. He and Rich Aurilia are wine owners, like I am. They don't grow grapes, but we both make wine. He's always a pleasant guy, he's a very bright, young man, but he's in the way."