Aside from the lack of quality humor, soaking in a sunny spring training session at the Reds Player Development Complex is like watching the organized chaos of Saturday Night Live from Studio 8H in 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

While pitchers soft toss on one of the nine fields surrounding the clubhouse, a crew of workers pounds a tarp into place on an adjacent field in preparation for batting practice. A horn ends one segment, and is quickly followed by the sound of cleats clacking across concrete walkways to the next station.

While the ground crews work in step, the coaching staff has a similar seamlessness. And why wouldn’t it? With Dusty Baker now in his sixth season as the field boss, third base coach Mark Berry finishing off his third decade with the organization and others like Brook Jacoby, Billy Hatcher, Mack Jenkins, Chris Speier and Juan Lopez all spanning Baker’s tenure, there are few surprises once spring rolls around.

Baker said continuity is one of the keys to the organization’s recent success, and a lesson more franchises could learn from.

“It’s a big deal. It’s a huge deal. Most organizations that are successful have had continuity,” Baker said. “If it wasn’t, why do they talk about how quarterbacks have had six different offensive coordinators? You’ve heard that talk, and the same thing applies to our game. The same thing applies to your pitching coach, the same thing applies to Walt (Jocketty) and the whole organization.”

Known as fiercely loyal, especially to veteran players, Baker’s approach was more widely embraced in previous eras, when huge contracts and media scrutiny didn’t affect front office decisions. But while he was considered to be on shaky ground heading into last spring, Baker was given a two-year extension after leading the Reds to their second NL Central title in three seasons.

And with him back, all of the staff knew it would return to a team looking to make a deep run in the postseason.

That doesn’t mean Baker’s loyalty is blind. But he said hasty decisions are rarely successful.

“There comes a point in time after a while where if it’s not right, or if it’s not working, that’s when you have to make tough decisions,” Baker said. “But you don’t know if they’re correct decisions or not until later.”

Baker said he’s comfortable that his fellow coaches know precisely what he’s looking for throughout the day. And he roams the complex, looking to offer small bits of advice.

“They know what I require, they know how I’d like them to play. They know my temperament, my humor, they know as much about me as I know about them,” Baker said. “They know when to put your arm around a guy or when to assign (bench coach) Chris (Speier) to somebody instead of me. They know how to recognize a problem before it starts.”

And the continuity doesn’t end at the major league level. Take, for example, Delino DeShields, who will make his debut as the manager at Double-A Pensacola this spring after a pair of seasons at the helm in Dayton.

DeShields said Monday that loyalty is something that makes sense with the organization moving in the right direction.

“When you get good people, you want to keep them around. I think we have a lot of quality people around here and guys get along. Things have been going well. Why try to fix something if it’s not broke?” DeShields said.

“Not only with the big league staff, but in the minor leagues, Dusty reaches out to guys and makes you feel a big part of what’s going on. He’s got a big part to do with that.”

The formula seems to be working. Aside from a hiccup in 2010, the Reds have improved their win total every season Baker’s been at the helm, culminating with last year’s 97-win campaign. And many inside the clubhouse believe this is the year the club will finally climb back to the World Series.

“There’s a lot of confidence here in the organization right now. We’ve been to the playoffs two out of the last three years,” DeShields said. “It’s the same group of guys, but adding a few new pieces. It’s just time.”

Drawing a walk: Shin-Soo Choo has drawn the attention of the Korean media, which keeps popping in and out of camp, but he’s also caught the eye of slugger Joey Votto. After Votto knocked a number of batting practice fastballs over the fence on Monday, he asked Choo to wait for him so the two could walk together back to the clubhouse. Choo seemed surprised by the request and the pair were chatting at length during the short trek.

Meet the press: Baker and Walt Jocketty were in the leadoff spot during the festivities at the 2013 Cactus League media day at Chase Field in downtown Phoenix. All 15 teams were represented at the event.