Bud Black, former San Diego Padres skipper, will be the new manager of the Nationals.
Advertisement
In his playing days, Black was a left-handed pitcher for the Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals, Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants from 1981 to 1995. As the Angels’ pitching coach from 2000 to 2006, his teams finished in the top five in the American League in ERA on five occasions, including when Anaheim won the World Series in 2002.
The Washington Post’s initial report was confirmed on Wednesday, though it’s unlikely the team will officially announce the hiring until after the World Series.
Despite this decision, the Padres’ season continued in the same direction, ultimately finishing in fourth place in the NL West. Meanwhile, Black’s reputation stayed strong as ever.
Black, 58, becomes the sixth full-time manager in Nationals history, which extends back only 11 years.
Most of the blame fell on Williams, who butted heads with his players and lost the clubhouse a year after winning the NL Manager of the Year.
Whether Black’s the right man for the job is up to interpretation. The Padres missed out on the playoffs every year under Black, who was sacked after a 32-33 start following high Spring Training expectations. Born and raised in Southern California, Balsley is rumored to follow Black across the country to oversee the Nationals’ stable of pitchers.
While Williams was a poor communicator who is generally well known for lacking any tangible managerial strategy, Bud Black is known as a player’s manager as well as one of the best communicators in all of baseball. His tenure came to a rocky end, as the team was eliminated from postseason play September 26, and the next day, righty closer Jonathan Papelbon went after star slugger Bryce Harper in the dugout during the bottom of the eighth inning.
Advertisement
Black will inherit a talented, yet challenging roster in his new position, as well as one that will be seeing a few noticeable changes this winter.
