Jan 30, 2020; Houston, Texas, USA; Dusty Baker speaks after being announced as the Houston Astros manager during a press conference at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Dusty Baker continues to be the Forrest Gump of Major League Baseball.
A wild fact about the Houston Astros manager Baker went viral following Game 4 of the 2022 World Series on Wednesday. Baker’s side blanked the Philadelphia Phillies 5-0, throwing a combined no-hitter in the process. Jayson Stark of ESPN shared that, of three no-hitters in MLB postseason history, two of them have now taken place at Citizens Bank Park… and Baker was the visiting manager for both of them.
Baker managed the Cincinnati Reds in 2010 when late Phillies great Roy Halladay no-hit them in Game 1 of the NLDS.
There have been 3 no-hitters in postseason history.
2 have been pitched in Citizens Bank Park (the other: by Roy Halladay in 2010).
Dusty Baker was the visiting manager in two of them.
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) November 3, 2022
You might be able to guess what the other no-hitter in MLB playoff history was — New York Yankees pitcher Don Larsen’s iconic perfect game in the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers. While Halladay and now the Astros have since followed with playoff no-hitters, Larsen’s outing remains the only perfect game in the history of the MLB postseason.
Baker did spark some controversy with his decision-making in Wednesday’s combined no-hitter. But regardless, this is by far better than the last playoff coincidence that Baker found himself at the center of.