Going for No. 2: Dusty Baker to return as Astros manager for 2023

HOUSTON (AP) — Fresh off his World Series win, Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker has agreed to a one-year contract to remain with the team next season.

The 73-year-old Baker earned his first World Series championship as a manager in his 25th season as a skipper when the Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies in six games Saturday.

The contracts of both general manager James Click and Baker expired at season’s end but Click’s has not yet been renewed. Click said Tuesday night he was having discussions about his future with team owner Jim Crane.

Click and Baker both joined the team in 2020 to replace general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch, who were fired in the aftermath of Houston’s sign-stealing scandal.

Baker took over for the COVID-19-shortened season. The Astros squeaked into the postseason as an AL wild card before heating up in the playoffs and coming one win shy of reaching the World Series.

The Astros won 95 games in 2021 and Baker made his first trip to the Series since 2002 with the Giants but came up short again as Houston fell to Atlanta in six games.

This season Houston won 106 games for the second-best record in franchise history and captured its second World Series title and first since the scandal-tainted 2017 championship.