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Crossroads: A Memoir in Baseball and Life
Legendary baseball player and manager Dusty Baker reflects on his extraordinary career—filled with invaluable lessons on perseverance, leadership, and living life meaningfully on the field and off.
Dusty Baker walked with baseball legends and became one himself. After he signed with the Braves in 1968 at the age of nineteen against his father’s wishes, no less than the great Hank Aaron promised to take Baker under his wing. Mentored by Aaron, Orlando Cepeda, and Willie Mays, Baker became a premier hitter, helping take the Dodgers to a World Series victory in 1981. He would bookend this with another championship in 2022, this time as a manager helping guide and redeem a Houston Astros team humbled by a cheating scandal. Respected by generations across the game, Baker has come to embody the spirit of the sport—and yet, to discuss his baseball career is only to scratch the surface of a remarkable life.
Crossroads will bring readers into the mind of one of baseball’s a curious, inquisitive thinker whose deep interest in the worlds of music, wine, and the simpler joys of life charts a journey of success, struggle, faith, and perseverance. Baker's memoir is filled with hard-earned wisdom and a love for life so plentiful, it seems to radiate from every sentence.
A true American original, counting among his friends presidents and dignitaries, bluesmen and artists, Baker weaves a spell of life at the crossroads, where fate turns on our decisions and the unexpected answers that sometimes seek us out when we least expect it.
Dusty Baker walked with baseball legends and became one himself. After he signed with the Braves in 1968 at the age of nineteen against his father’s wishes, no less than the great Hank Aaron promised to take Baker under his wing. Mentored by Aaron, Orlando Cepeda, and Willie Mays, Baker became a premier hitter, helping take the Dodgers to a World Series victory in 1981. He would bookend this with another championship in 2022, this time as a manager helping guide and redeem a Houston Astros team humbled by a cheating scandal. Respected by generations across the game, Baker has come to embody the spirit of the sport—and yet, to discuss his baseball career is only to scratch the surface of a remarkable life.
Crossroads will bring readers into the mind of one of baseball’s a curious, inquisitive thinker whose deep interest in the worlds of music, wine, and the simpler joys of life charts a journey of success, struggle, faith, and perseverance. Baker's memoir is filled with hard-earned wisdom and a love for life so plentiful, it seems to radiate from every sentence.
A true American original, counting among his friends presidents and dignitaries, bluesmen and artists, Baker weaves a spell of life at the crossroads, where fate turns on our decisions and the unexpected answers that sometimes seek us out when we least expect it.
410 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 9, 2026
About the author
Dusty Baker
12 books13 followersJohnnie B. Baker Jr., known since youth as Dusty, was born in Riverside, California, and went to high school at Del Campo High near Sacramento. He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the June 1967 amateur draft and went on to a nineteen-year Major League Baseball career, finishing with career marks of 242 home runs, 1,013 RBIs and a .278 batting average. During his ten seasons managing the San Francisco Giants starting in 1993, he was a three-time Manager of the Year and took the team to the 2002 World Series. He also managed the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds. He lives near Sacramento with his wife, Melissa, and son, Darren, and has his own energy company, Baker Energy Team. This is his first book.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 24, 2026
A memoir from baseball legend, Dusty Baker. I loved this book. It is exactly what you want from a sports memoir. Details about the game, the inside scoop on certain icon moments, and because Baker played and managed for so long, antidotes about so many important players in the game. Some of the book gets redundant and maybe a little too detailed with depth. But mostly you get exactly what you think you’ll get about a life in baseball. If you love baseball and want to hear about it from a man who was there, this book is perfect for that
June 20, 2026
I didn't know anything about Dusty Baker, except that he was the Manager of the San Francisco Giants. He was a teammate of Hank Aaron on the Atlanta Braves and there was a lot of verbiage on there relationship, and a lot of extra insight when Hank hit home run number 715. How awesome is that?
Baker also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers under the Managerial helm of Tommy Lasorda, the San Francisco Giants under Frank Robinson, and the Oakland Athletics (José Canseco was a rookie in 1985 and Mark McGwire was a rookie in 1986).
As a Manager, Baker was in charge of the San Francisco Giants (with Barry Bonds chasing the home run record), the Chicago Cubs (with Sammy Sosa, another home run king), the Cincinnati Reds (with Ken Griffey JR, yet another home run king), the Washington Nationals, and the Houston Astros (where he finally won a World Series, after a few times of being there both as a player and a Manager). How awesome is his lineage to baseball history?
Baker also talked about his passion for music and fishing, and that he always takes advantage of where is for those activities. In 1967, he attended all three days of the Monterrey Pop Festival.
There was also a lot of talk about his family, and how important his parent's role in his life was. Quite a few times, when Baker needed advice, he called his dad! For his own kids, he was just a proud parent when his son made his big league debut as a professional baseball player.
He got to meet a lot of famous people (especially, when was playing for the Dodgers) from music, athletes, and politicians (he met a young Barack Obama while he was Managing the Cubs). When he was a player and a Manager, the game was one thing, but a lot of times, after the games, he hung with his friends and those friends could be from the opposing teams.
His medical diagnosis of having prostate cancer and some heart issues were discussed.
There were a lot of details of his playing and managerial days, and for me, it was a bit too much. It also felt like some of the stories were out of order, and I had a hard time following along. Overall, I enjoyed reading about his journey, and was actually really impressed with his experience and all the great mentors he had in the game.
He was in the on deck circle when Hank Aaron hit number 715.
He was a player for the Dodgers when Reggie Jackson hit 3 home runs in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series.
He was the Giants Manager when the 1989 earthquake happened during the World Series.
He was the Cub Manager when a fan named Steve Bartman may have interfered with the ball in the 2003 National League Championship Season.
After reading it, I think he should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
As a player, he played 18 seasons with an average of .278, 242 home runs, and 1013 RBIs, and one World Series title in 1981 as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
As a Manager, 2183 wins and 1862 losses, and one World Series title.
It's also funny, because his real love was basketball and football!
Baker also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers under the Managerial helm of Tommy Lasorda, the San Francisco Giants under Frank Robinson, and the Oakland Athletics (José Canseco was a rookie in 1985 and Mark McGwire was a rookie in 1986).
As a Manager, Baker was in charge of the San Francisco Giants (with Barry Bonds chasing the home run record), the Chicago Cubs (with Sammy Sosa, another home run king), the Cincinnati Reds (with Ken Griffey JR, yet another home run king), the Washington Nationals, and the Houston Astros (where he finally won a World Series, after a few times of being there both as a player and a Manager). How awesome is his lineage to baseball history?
Baker also talked about his passion for music and fishing, and that he always takes advantage of where is for those activities. In 1967, he attended all three days of the Monterrey Pop Festival.
There was also a lot of talk about his family, and how important his parent's role in his life was. Quite a few times, when Baker needed advice, he called his dad! For his own kids, he was just a proud parent when his son made his big league debut as a professional baseball player.
He got to meet a lot of famous people (especially, when was playing for the Dodgers) from music, athletes, and politicians (he met a young Barack Obama while he was Managing the Cubs). When he was a player and a Manager, the game was one thing, but a lot of times, after the games, he hung with his friends and those friends could be from the opposing teams.
His medical diagnosis of having prostate cancer and some heart issues were discussed.
There were a lot of details of his playing and managerial days, and for me, it was a bit too much. It also felt like some of the stories were out of order, and I had a hard time following along. Overall, I enjoyed reading about his journey, and was actually really impressed with his experience and all the great mentors he had in the game.
He was in the on deck circle when Hank Aaron hit number 715.
He was a player for the Dodgers when Reggie Jackson hit 3 home runs in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series.
He was the Giants Manager when the 1989 earthquake happened during the World Series.
He was the Cub Manager when a fan named Steve Bartman may have interfered with the ball in the 2003 National League Championship Season.
After reading it, I think he should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
As a player, he played 18 seasons with an average of .278, 242 home runs, and 1013 RBIs, and one World Series title in 1981 as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
As a Manager, 2183 wins and 1862 losses, and one World Series title.
It's also funny, because his real love was basketball and football!
June 21, 2026
This is a solid biography of a man who has led a full life in baseball, from starting in the late 1960s to retiring as a manager after the 2023 season.
Baker won a World Series as a player and another as a manager and he lost two World Series as a player and a manager. He was teammates with Hank Aaron (famously on deck when Aaron broker Babe Ruth's record). His dad coached Bobby Bonds in Little League and Dusty managed Barry Bonds in San Francisco.
I knew a lot of facts about Dusty's career as a player and as a manager. The book helped to fill in details, many of which are fascinating, and shows a rich life outside of baseball, such as visiting the Crossroads in Mississippi with Elvin Bishop.
However, I have to comment on the fact this book is a mess. The copyright page credits one copy editor and two proofreaders. I would really like to know what those three did. Names of players and other baseball people are misspelled with regularity - Dave Dombrowski is Dave Dombroski and Dave Dombrowsky in the same paragraph; Jayson Werth is Jayson Werth and Jason Werth; Jim DeShaies is Jim DeShaes and on and on.
The "facts" are a mess. The first reference to Wrigley Field claims the park was built in 1918 whereas the second reference gets the dates, 1914, correct. Dusty references 1977 as the release date of The Clash's version of "I Fought the Law", instead of 1979. Greg Luzinski is credited as player on the 1983 Phillies, despite his being on the White Sox from 1981-84. Dusty says he was going to catch a private jet from Meigs Field in 2012, but Meigs closed in 2003.
The list is not exhaustive, just a sample. I am left wondering how many facts in the book are wrong, if I could cite more than those four off the top of my head.
Baker won a World Series as a player and another as a manager and he lost two World Series as a player and a manager. He was teammates with Hank Aaron (famously on deck when Aaron broker Babe Ruth's record). His dad coached Bobby Bonds in Little League and Dusty managed Barry Bonds in San Francisco.
I knew a lot of facts about Dusty's career as a player and as a manager. The book helped to fill in details, many of which are fascinating, and shows a rich life outside of baseball, such as visiting the Crossroads in Mississippi with Elvin Bishop.
However, I have to comment on the fact this book is a mess. The copyright page credits one copy editor and two proofreaders. I would really like to know what those three did. Names of players and other baseball people are misspelled with regularity - Dave Dombrowski is Dave Dombroski and Dave Dombrowsky in the same paragraph; Jayson Werth is Jayson Werth and Jason Werth; Jim DeShaies is Jim DeShaes and on and on.
The "facts" are a mess. The first reference to Wrigley Field claims the park was built in 1918 whereas the second reference gets the dates, 1914, correct. Dusty references 1977 as the release date of The Clash's version of "I Fought the Law", instead of 1979. Greg Luzinski is credited as player on the 1983 Phillies, despite his being on the White Sox from 1981-84. Dusty says he was going to catch a private jet from Meigs Field in 2012, but Meigs closed in 2003.
The list is not exhaustive, just a sample. I am left wondering how many facts in the book are wrong, if I could cite more than those four off the top of my head.
June 30, 2026
Dusty is a winner
As a life loving Dodger fan and watching Dusty though out his career, I always admired him for his successes. In his book, he filled in the gaps of his upbringing and his trial and tribulations of baseball and life. As a white guy (slightly younger than Dusty), I appreciated learning of what he endured as a black man and how he used his religious upbringing as a pillar in living his life. I also enjoyed all of his stories and all of the relationships and friendships he made during the course of his life. He had the opportunity to meet an array of really cool people, especially Hank Aaron.
I also had the opportunity to meet Dusty in January 2017 at a hot stove dinner for our local university by way of winning a bid on his jersey, which he personally autographed for me. We even talked about his love for Kauai, which we also have as we go there a couple of times a year. And I read his book as we are now visiting Kauai! Dusty was and always will be a winner.
As a life loving Dodger fan and watching Dusty though out his career, I always admired him for his successes. In his book, he filled in the gaps of his upbringing and his trial and tribulations of baseball and life. As a white guy (slightly younger than Dusty), I appreciated learning of what he endured as a black man and how he used his religious upbringing as a pillar in living his life. I also enjoyed all of his stories and all of the relationships and friendships he made during the course of his life. He had the opportunity to meet an array of really cool people, especially Hank Aaron.
I also had the opportunity to meet Dusty in January 2017 at a hot stove dinner for our local university by way of winning a bid on his jersey, which he personally autographed for me. We even talked about his love for Kauai, which we also have as we go there a couple of times a year. And I read his book as we are now visiting Kauai! Dusty was and always will be a winner.
June 27, 2026
I learned a lot (especially about his playing days), and he had a lot of fun stories. Maybe just a smidge on the long side, and he does repeat himself a few times. But a super engaging memoir overall.
July 2, 2026
Dusty, not that Dos Equis guy, is the most interesting person in the world, and that can new through in this book. He seems to know everybody, in baseball, sports, music and other fields, and he tells his story in a very readable book. It was hard to put down.
July 7, 2026
I enjoyed reading this book by Dusty Baker, one of my favorite managers in baseball. I learned many things about Dusty and about his outlook on life. If you like reading about sports, you will love this book.
June 14, 2026
Very fun and knowledgeable read for a baseball fan!
June 30, 2026
A fascinating life, but how can you discuss managing Barry Bonds in the apex of his career and completely ignore the elephant in the room? Say something—one way or another.
July 6, 2026
Listened to this on audiobook and this is a must read (or listen!) for any baseball fan. Really enjoyed hearing about Dusty’s career from his POV.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews