John Matthews
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) Just as the media leaks predicted last week, the Washington Nationals have hired a new manager. It’s just not the guy they expected to introduce.
Tuesday morning, the Nationals announced in a press release the have signed Dusty Baker to a multi-year contract to lead the franchise.
Baker, 66, has managed three teams, and he lead all of them – the Giants, Cubs and Reds – to the playoffs in a 23-year managerial career. He was fired by the Reds at the end of the 2013 season, and his hiring by the Nationals would spare Major League Baseball the embarrassment of not having an African-American manager for the first time in nearly 30 years.
“I am so pleased to welcome Dusty Baker to the Nationals family,” Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo said in the news release. “In getting to know Dusty and identifying what we wanted in the next on-field leader of our team, we are excited to have him on board. Dusty’s experience, as a winning player, coach, and manager, is vast and varied. We are excited to bring him to Washington and put his steady demeanor, knowledge and many years in the game to work in our favor. I think I speak for the entire organization when I say I am very much looking forward to working with him.”
As a player, Baker spent 19 years in the major leagues as an outfielder, playing primarily for the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers.
The announcement to hire Baker came after the team broke off negotiations with former Padres manager Bud Black, who, according to several media reports, had been offered the job ahead of Baker. Negotiations with Black apparently became sidetracked over both the amount of money being offered and the length of the deal. The Nationals would not guarantee more than two years to Black.
The team fired manager Matt Williams last month with a year left on his three-year guaranteed contract, so he’ll earn $1 million dollars next season.
Copyright 2015 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (PHOTO: Wikipedia)
