"Let them police themselves, and then it goes another step past them to my coaches and there a coach that is responsible for a different area and different category on the field"
About this Quote
There is a quiet radicalism in Dusty Baker's plainspoken chain of accountability: "Let them police themselves" isn’t a shrug, it’s a design. In a sports culture that loves the myth of the all-seeing manager, Baker sketches a system where authority is deliberately distributed, not hoarded. The point isn’t to disappear as a leader; it’s to build a clubhouse where standards are enforced horizontally first, so corrections land as belonging, not punishment.
The phrasing matters. "Another step past them" turns discipline into a relay, not a hammer. Players check players; if that fails, the issue escalates to coaches, each tied to "a different area and different category on the field". That last clause reads like bureaucracy, but it’s actually protection: by narrowing responsibility, Baker avoids the mushy, vibes-based accountability that turns into scapegoating. Everyone knows who owns what. When something breaks, you don’t hunt for a villain; you trace a process.
Contextually, this sounds like a veteran manager speaking from years of watching raw talent get undone by ego, cliques, or the corrosive feeling that rules only come from above. "Police themselves" can sound harsh in another arena, but here it signals peer leadership: a team mature enough to regulate its own temperature. Baker’s subtext is trust with teeth. He’s betting that autonomy creates buy-in, and buy-in creates consistency - the only currency that survives a long season.
The phrasing matters. "Another step past them" turns discipline into a relay, not a hammer. Players check players; if that fails, the issue escalates to coaches, each tied to "a different area and different category on the field". That last clause reads like bureaucracy, but it’s actually protection: by narrowing responsibility, Baker avoids the mushy, vibes-based accountability that turns into scapegoating. Everyone knows who owns what. When something breaks, you don’t hunt for a villain; you trace a process.
Contextually, this sounds like a veteran manager speaking from years of watching raw talent get undone by ego, cliques, or the corrosive feeling that rules only come from above. "Police themselves" can sound harsh in another arena, but here it signals peer leadership: a team mature enough to regulate its own temperature. Baker’s subtext is trust with teeth. He’s betting that autonomy creates buy-in, and buy-in creates consistency - the only currency that survives a long season.
Quote Details
| Topic | Coaching |
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