Two of the most iconic managers in modern baseball history will face off in the 2023 American League Championship Series.

The Championship Series between the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros will feature Rangers skipper Bruce Bochy matching strategy from the dugout with Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker.

It doesn’t get more competitive than having two of the most celebrated managers in the game facing one another in a crucial playoff series.

This classic Texas showdown between two of baseball’s most complete teams will send the winner to the World Series.

Both teams play in the American League West Division.

The best-of-seven series begins Sunday October 15, at Minute Maid Park in Houston, home of the Astros.

The Texas rivals have never met in the postseason.

By virtue of their regular season records, the Astros will have home park advantage in the series.

In the American League Championship Series, the first two games will be played at Minute Maid.

Games 3, 4, and 5 (if needed) will be played at the Rangers Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

If needed, games 6 and 7 will return to Minute Maid Park.

The Texas Rangers and Houston Astros both finished the season with a record of 90-72, tied for first place in the AL West.

The Rangers and Astros played each other 13 times during the regular season.

The Astros won the division by defeating the Rangers 9-4 during those 13 regular season games.

Bruce Bochy, 68, played parts of nine seasons as a big league catcher.

Bochy had stops with the Astros, the New York Mets, and the San Diego Padres.

Bochy played in 358 major league games, beginning his playing career in 1978 with Houston, and retiring with the Padres in 1987.

Bochy compiled a .239 career batting average, with 26 homers and 93 RBIs in 881 plate appearances.

Bochy began his managing career with the San Diego Padres in 1995.

Now in his 26th year as a manager, Bochy has compiled a record of 2093 -2101.

Bochy managed the Padres for 12 years, and the San Francisco Giants for 13 years, before taking a time out from the game after the 2019 season with the Giants.

Bochy was the National League Manager of the Year with the Padres in 1996.

Bochy returned to the dugout this past season, and navigated the Rangers to a two-game sweep in the American League Wild Card Series over the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rangers went on to a three-game sweep of the American League East Division winning Baltimore Orioles in the American League Division Series.

Perhaps Bochy’s greatest accomplishments as a manager have been his three World Championships with the San Francisco Giants.

Bochy and his Giants won world titles in 2010, 2012, and 2014.

To this analyst, Bochy’s handling of his pitching staffs in each of those three World Series victories was masterful.

Now, nine years after his last World Series victory, Bruce Bochy takes a Texas Rangers team to face the defending World Champion Houston Astros and their manager, Dusty Baker.

An All Star outfielder with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1981, and 1982, Dusty Baker played in parts of 19 major league seasons.

Baker’s playing career began with the Atlanta Braves in 1968.

Baker, now 74, played for the Braves for eight years, the Dodgers for eight years, the Oakland Athletics for two years, and the San Francisco Giants for one year.

Baker ended his playing career with a .278 batting average, 242 home runs, and 1,013 RBIs in 8,022 plate appearances, covering 2,039 games played.

Dusty Baker has completed 26 years as a major league manager.

Baker managed the San Francisco Giants for 10 years, the Chicago Cubs for four seasons, the Cincinnati Reds for six years, and the Washington Nationals for two seasons. He is now completing his fourth year with the Astros.

In his tenure, Baker won pennants in 2002 with the Giants, and in 2021 and 2022 with the Astros.

Baker won his first World Series ever by taking the Astros to the title last season, when his team defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2.

Dusty Baker won the National League Manager of the Year Award with the Giants in 1993, 1997, and 2000.

Baker is credited with being the calming influence the Astros desperately needed in their dugout following a cheating scandal that rocked the baseball world in general, and the Astros in particular.

The Astros were accused of stealing signs during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, with a full disclosure of the team’s activities surfacing in the media in November 2019.

Due to the scandal, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and field manager A.J. Hinch were suspended by the league for the 2020 season.

Dusty Baker took control of the Astros bench and clubhouse in 2020, and literally calmed an environment that was bubbling over from the impact of the cheating accusations.

A classic baseball playoff series between probable Hall of Fame managers Bruce Bochy, and Dusty Baker, will begin to unfold October 15.

The American League Championship Series between the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros could be a classic.

The winner of the series will take his team to the World Series.