By Fitzgerald Cecilio

Calling him the right man to continue the building process, the Cincinnati Reds announced the signing of manager Dusty Baker to a two-year contract extension through the 2014 season in a press conference at Great American Ball Park.

"In Dusty's five seasons here, he's taken us to the postseason twice and has proven he can lead our teams to championship-caliber play on the field," Reds president and CEO Bob Castellini said. "He's the right manager to continue the building process that will take us deeper and deeper into the playoffs in the future."

The 63-year-old Baker joined Bill McKechnie and Sparky Anderson this season as the only managers to lead the Reds to multiple postseason berths.

Since taking over the team in 2008, Baker has a record of 419-391 (.517). He is 19th all-time and second among active skippers in wins with 1,581 from 19 seasons as manager for the Giants, Cubs and Reds.

After winning 97 games in the regular season, the Reds made it to the National League Division Series but lost in five games to the San Francisco Giants despite going 2-0 in the best-of-five affair.

"It's great to be back -- I never left. I'm very proud to be here," Baker said. "We're going to go forward with bigger expectations and everything. We're all very saddened, the players and myself wanted to go further, but we're poised to go further in the future."

I'm very excited about the prospects of what we have here to carry on what we started. I can't wait for Spring Training," he added.

The Reds made it to the playoffs despite losing three relievers, including new closer Ryan Madson, to injuries during Spring Training.

Superstar slugger Joey Votto also went down with a knee injury in July but Baker inspired the team to perform at their best, leading the division by eight games over the St. Louis Cardinals.

"We're moving in the right direction and we're trying to build a team that will be in contention for a long time and win multiple world championships and one of the things we felt that's very important is continuity," said Walt Jocketty, president of baseball operations and general manager.

Baker missed 11 games in September after being diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat while in Chicago. During his time in the hospital, he suffered a minor stroke but was back for the final three games of the regular season and the Division Series.

Despite this, Baker said the idea of leaving baseball never entered his mind.

 

 

Manager Dusty Baker Signs Two-Year Extension with Reds