Reds' Baker feels 'truly blessed'
Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker was back on the job after having a mini-stroke 10 days ago.
"I always had a pretty good perspective on things," he said. "Now, this makes me feel more appreciative of things, my family. I feel truly blessed to be in the hospital when I had a mini-stroke. You can't get any more blessed than that. They way I look it, it's our year. We've got a great support staff here. My guys did a great job while I was out.
"I was thinking the other day, everybody's had a chance this year ... everybody's had a chance to pick each other up. That's what kind of team we have. I feel truly blessed.
"I'm fine now. I'm not 100 percent, but I'm close."
Baker went into the hospital on Sept. 18 to be checked for pneumonia. He was found to have an irregular heartbeat. He was going to be released Sept. 21 when he suffered the stroke. A nurse became alarmed when Baker couldn't say his name.
"She said, 'Stay right here,' " Baker said. "I said, 'Why?' Imagine, I could have been on the plane in five minutes or 10 minutes. That's why I say it ain't my time to go."
Baker, 63, never considered not returning to his job to finish the season.
"It wasn't a question for me," he said. "It was a question for the doctors. I had to get cleared by the doctors."
