The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum announced Dusty Baker, Cito Gaston, Willie Randolph, and Jerry Manuel will make up the 2025 Hall of Game Class, presented by Hy-Vee, with Tony Reagins receiving the inaugural JL Wilkinson “Innovator” Award. The distinguished class will be officially inducted in ceremonies on Saturday, October 4 from the Sheraton Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City.
“It is my distinct honor to welcome Dusty Baker, Cito Gaston, Willie Randolph and Jerry Manuel to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum’s Hall of Game and to award Tony Reagins with the JL Wilkinson Innovator Award,” said Bob Kendrick President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. “They embody the winning spirit and leadership of the Negro Leagues, through their on and off-field endeavors. 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.”
The 2025 Hall of Game class celebrates some of baseball’s greatest Black managers during the 50th anniversary of Frank Robinson breaking Major League Baseball’s managerial color barrier. These men are an extension of the brilliant managers of the Negro Leagues, who didn’t get the opportunity to transition into Major League Baseball after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier on April 15, 1947. The celebration of African American managers is connected to the museum’s groundbreaking exhibit, entitled “Leaders and Innovators,” that’s on display through March 2026.