Dusty Baker Quotes on Youth (13 Quotes)

He's getting more confident, more control of the strike zone, more confidence to throw any pitch in any count. That's what you call progress and what you like to see of the young man.

Usually, if he makes a mistake, they don't hit him out of the ballpark with that sinker, ... He made a mistake that's what happens with youth. We have a young pitching staff and a young bullpen that's subject sometimes to walks and also subject to mistakes.

An older club tends to get it together later than a young club. Just like spring training. Young guys, two weeks, they're ready to go. Where the older guys, it takes them longer to get their timing.

They both were very impressive. We'd heard some things about these guys, but the guys improved a lot. Fox was one of the most improved guys in camp. He's a young guy, with very little experience in the Minor Leagues. Those guys are doing good.

That's what we're here for is to see. Eventually, I think he'll be a fine No. 2 hitter. I don't know if the time is now or not. Playing shortstop and batting second is a lot for a young man. We're just trying different things.

You can sort of tell that teams are here, or teams are improved. Watch the winter deals they make the maturity of the young players.

Sometimes he gets overly creative. When you're young, you're going to try stuff.

I'm looking for health, I'm looking for bat speed, I'm looking for leg speed. It's hard to compare a youngster to a veteran player in Spring Training. The advantage always goes to the young player. There are some things I'm looking for. You want to see progress as spring goes on. I've got a pretty good idea of what he can do. I'm looking for what's left.

I've noticed Guzman has spent a lot of time with Carlos Zambrano and Henry Blanco. They're leading him down the right avenues and paths as far as how to work out and conduct yourself. That's always big for the young guys.

He was more aggressive, he was in the strike zone. He worked quickly, which allowed the players to stay alert on defense. His body language and demeanor was a lot better, which he promised me it would be after our discussion. You like to see a young man do what he says, because talk is cheap. He said what he is going to do and he did it.

I try to protect the young guys as best I can, but at the same time, if you're in the big leagues, you're in the fire every day no matter who you're playing.

If a young man throws strikes, they can win. There have been a number of young guys who came up and have done quite well, especially if they have the maturity and demeanor to handle it and do it. This is an opportunity for somebody to win a job.

We want to get him in the position to give him the best chance to make the club. He worked hard last winter. We know he can help this club. I can tell he's helping some of the young guys and the veteran guys about how to go about their business and how to play this game.