Dusty Baker to manage Nicaragua in 2026 World Baseball Classic

Nicaragua on Monday named Dusty Baker, a World Series champion, three-time manager of the year and the eighth-winningest manager in major league history, to manage the team in next year’s World Baseball Classic.

The national baseball team said Baker will be on the bench when Nicaragua tries to improve on its 19th-place finish in the 2023 WBC.

Baker, 76, managed for 26 years, leading five major league teams to division titles before retiring in 2023. He was a two-time All-Star and helped the Dodgers win the 1981 World Series as a player, then managed Houston to the 2022 World Series title.

Nicaragua went 3-0 in qualifying for the WBC and will play in Group D in Miami against Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, the Netherlands and Israel.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

By The Associated Press