Sosa was subsequently traded to Baltimore. Sosa left the clubhouse before the end of the season finale, and the fading slugger later accused Baker of blaming him for the club's failures. The 2004 season also marked the end of Sammy Sosa's stint in Chicago. They came back the next season, led the NL wild-card race by 1 1/2 games late, only to stumble again on their final homestand and not make the postseason. The next night, the Cubs lost Game 7 with Wood pitching.
It will easily be the most-remembered inning of Baker's tenure in Chicago. The Marlins scored eight times, helped when Cubs fan Steve Bartman touched a foul fly ball before Chicago left fielder Moises Alou had a chance to catch it. With Prior on the mound in Game 6 and Chicago still leading the series, 3-2, the Cubs blew a three-run lead in the eighth inning.
Dusty baker toothpicks series#
Known for his toothpicks and wristbands while managing from the dugout, Baker was popular with players, many of whom expressed a desire to play for him.Īnd he was the most popular man in Chicago in 2003 when the Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves in the division series and then had a 3-1 lead over the Florida Marlins in the NLCS. "You can see four years come to pass very quickly in front of your face as I'm going through everything." "It's something that is very emotional while you're doing it," he said. And this time he was taking everything with him. Then he had to pack, one of his least favorite activities. He didn't answer questions during a brief appearance, explaining, "you know there's really no answers right now." It's been hard to watch him go through some of the things he had to go through."īaker called his days with the Cubs a learning experience, said he would resurface in the game in some capacity and wished everyone well - players, Hendry and reporters. "It just didn't work and you have to make a change and move forward in the best interest of the organization," Hendry said. But there were also fundamental lapses in fielding and baserunning and Baker heard it from the fans, who booed him in Sunday's season finale even when it was obvious he wasn't returning. It got so bad that rookie pitchers were forced to start 78 games this year. Injuries were a huge part of the team's slide - the Cubs were without often-sidelined pitchers Mark Prior and Kerry Wood and 2005 NL batting champ Derrek Lee for most of this season. "It's gone down a slippery slope the last two years and we all deserve a big part of the blame, not just him." "Obviously, history was almost changed for good in '03," general manager Jim Hendry said. But after his first Cubs team collapsed in the 2003 NL championship series, when the World Series was a mere five outs away, he couldn't get them back to the playoffs.Įven though he led the Cubs to their first back-to-back winning seasons in more than three decades, his final two years turned into losers, including an NL-worst 66-96 mark this season.