Throughout this season, the Negro Leagues Museum has emphasized a theme entitled “Leaders and Innovators.” For their 2025 Hall of Game induction class, the Museum is honoring a group of African American managers who truly represent that theme.

Former MLB skippers Dusty Baker, Cito Gaston, Willie Randolph, and Jerry Manuel will make up the 2025 class, presented by Hy-Vee. A capsule look at the deep resumes of this quartet speaks to their contributions.

They’ve combined to win three World Series titles, five pennants, 17 division crowns, and over 4,000 victories. Established in 2014, the Hall of Game is a national baseball celebration that annually honors former MLB greats who embodied the spirit and signature style of the Negro Leagues.

“They embody the winning spirit and leadership of the Negro Leagues, through their on and off-field endeavors”, said Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

“They are all leaders and innovators who have continued to move the great game of baseball forward while embracing the greats of Black baseball’s past.”

 

A WINNER AT ALL LEVELS

Before becoming a big league manager, Dusty Baker played 19 years in the Majors, notably for the Los Angeles Dodgers. A member of the 1981 World Series championship squad, he played in 2,039 games while collecting 1,981 hits, 242 home runs, and 1,013 RBIs, without ever going on the disabled list.

Baker was named NL Manager of the Year three times with the Giants and won the 2022 World Series with the Astros. He was also the first MLB manager to reach the playoffs and win a division title with five different teams (Giants, Cubs, Reds, Nationals, Astros), having accomplished both feats with each team he managed.

He ranks seventh in MLB managerial wins (2,183) and has the most wins among Black managers. Following his retirement as a manager, Baker joined the Giants’ front office.

Recently, Baker was named manager of Team Nicaragua for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, scheduled to take place in Miami in March 2026.

 

THE SILENT LEADER

Clarence “Cito” Gaston spent his entire managerial career with the Toronto Blue Jays, becoming the first Black manager in MLB history to win a World Series title. Gaston managed the Jays from 1989 to 1997, then again from 2008 to 2010.

It was following a 10-year career in the majors, mainly with the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves. A roommate of Hank Aaron while in Atlanta, Gaston credits the Hall of Famer with teaching him “how to be a man and how to stand on my own.”

Known as a player’s manager, Gaston was a steady influence during the years that saw the franchise transition from contenders to eventual champions. The franchise led the Major Leagues in attendance each year from 1989 to 1992.

During this time, he managed the Blue Jays to four AL East division titles (1989, 1991, 1992, and 1993), two AL pennants (1992 and 1993), and two World Series titles (1992 and 1993). In 2008, he was presented with the Museum’s Hall of Fame Legacy Award (Jackie Robinson Award).

He finished his managerial career with 894 victories in 12 seasons across the border. In 1999, Gaston’s Blue Jays uniform name and number (#43) were honoured by addition to the Rogers Centre’s Blue Jays “Level of Excellence.”

 

THE “SAGE”

Like Baker and Gaston, Jerry Manuel was a professional player for 15 years as well as a 12-year coach and Minor League manager. After serving as a bench coach for the 1997 World Series champion Florida Marlins, he signed a multi-year deal to manage the Chicago White Sox.

Over the next six seasons, he amassed over 500 wins and led the Sox to 95 in 2000 alone. That season, he led Chicago to the AL West crown. The Sox had the AL’s best record but lost in the ALDS.

During his time in Chicago, he and Kenny Williams formed the first Black GM/manager tandem in MLB history. After departing the White Sox, Manuel joined the New York Mets in 2005 as the first base and outfield coach under Willie Randolph.

When Randolph was fired in June of 2008, Manuel became the interim manager. New York rallied to grab first place but was unable to hold the division lead, which the Phillies ultimately won.

The Mets were then eliminated from the NL Wild Card berth on the season’s last day in the final game at Shea Stadium. He managed two more years in Flushing before getting fired following the 2010 season. He finished with 704 wins over nine seasons.

 

A TRUE NEW YORKER

After a long association with the Yankees as both a player and coach, Willie Randolph was named manager of the Mets in 2004. In his first season, he went 83–79, marking the first time the franchise had finished above .500 since 2001 and 12 games better than the previous season.

That record got them a tie for third place in the NL East. A year later, Randolph managed the Mets to a league-best 97–65 record (which also tied for the best record in the majors with the crosstown Yankees) and the division title (the team’s first division championship since 1988).

The Mets came within one game of reaching the World Series, losing the seventh game of the NLCS to the eventual World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals. In 2007, Randolph was managing the Mets when they had one of the worst collapses in major league history.

Holding a seven-game first-place lead in the NL East with only 17 games to play, the Mets finished 5–12 and lost the division to the Phillies, who went 13–4 in the same timespan. In 2008, Randolph’s job security steadily decreased after a disappointing start to the season and inconsistent performance through mid-June.

On June 17, 2008, less than two hours after the Mets’ 9–6 road victory over the Angels, Randolph was fired. The team’s record at the time of the firing was 34–35, which was 6½ games behind the Phillies in the NL East.

Randolph amassed 302 wins during his four seasons in New York. After 2008, the Mets did not have another winning season until 2015.

Also, Tony Reagins is receiving the inaugural JL Wilkinson “Innovator” Award. In his role as MLB’s Chief Baseball Development Officer, Reagins oversees the growth of youth and amateur levels of the sport, both domestically and internationally.

Reagins, who joined the Commissioner’s Office in March 2015, is also responsible for the operations of the Arizona Fall League. Before joining the Commissioner’s Office, he became the fifth Black General Manager in baseball history in 2007.

As GM of the Los Angeles Angels, Reagins amassed a record of 363-285 (.560), averaging nearly 91 wins per season. His highlights included consecutive AL West crowns in 2008-09 and the club’s first 100-win season in franchise history in ’08

In addition to the induction ceremony, the honorees will also receive permanent recognition as part of the future Buck O’Neil Education and Research Center, being developed by the NLBM at the site of the Paseo YMCA, the birthplace of the Negro Leagues.

The distinguished class will be officially inducted in ceremonies on Saturday, October 4th, at the Sheraton Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City.