Dusty Baker Says His Team Needs More Minority Players To Get Faster

Wednesday wasn’t a banner day for new Washington Nationals manager Dusty Baker. Taking his turn with the media at Major League Baseball’s Winter Meetings, he made not one, but two unfortunate comments in the same press conference.

When asked about the things he wants to add to the team, Baker began to list standard baseball additions: left-handed pitching, left-handed hitters and speed. His method of finding speed, however, is not one that he should brag about.

“You know, with the need for minorities, you can help yourself. You’ve got a better chance of getting some speed with Latin and African-Americans,” Baker said. “I’m not being racist. That’s just how it is.”

He was also asked about Aroldis Chapman, who is accused of firing a gun and choking his girlfriend during an October fight. Baker managed the pitcher for four seasons in Cincinnati.

While the manager said he didn’t read any reports of the incident, he did get dangerously close to victim-blaming. “I mean, who’s to say the allegations are true, number one. And who’s to say what you would have done and what caused the problem.”

Photo: Dusty Baker is introduced as Manager of the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on November 5, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Article by Joe Kozlowski