Written by Joe Messineo at No Coast Bias
The Washington Nationals have a new manager – but it’s not the guy that major news outlets initially reported as the team’s first choice. After supposedly agreeing in principle to hire former San Diego Padres manager Bud Black, the Nationals did an about-face and hired longtime MLB manager Dusty Baker instead. It was a strange turn of events. What happened, and did the Nationals make the right choice?
How the Nationals Ended Up Hiring Dusty Baker
The story of how the Nationals ended up with Baker is not a happy one for Nationals fans, because it’s full of dysfunction.
The starts with Bud Black, who was just fired by the San Diego Padres this year. He lost his job after the Padres made a disappointing start during a high-spending year for the organization, but he remains one of the most sought-after managerial candidate this offseason. So it’s no surprise that the Nationals tabbed him first – but it is a surprise that they refused to pay him.
The details aren’t perfectly clear, but it seems that sometime after the agreement in principle, the Nationals cheaped out. They offered Black $1.6 million for one season, a contract so low on cash and years that it apparently insulted Black. He backed out, and the Nationals moved on to Dusty Baker. Ironically, they reached a two-year deal with Baker.
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