With option picked up, manager thinking big The Nationals officially named Davey Johnson their manager for the 2012 season Monday.
The move came as little surprise after the 68-year-old Johnson took over the team June 27 — four days after the abrupt resignation of Jim Riggleman — and led it to a 40-43 record and a third-place finish in the National League East at 80-81 overall.
Johnson’s coaching staff will return intact — Steve McCatty (pitching coach), Trent Jewett (first-base coach), Bo Porter (third-base coach), Rick Eckstein (batting coach) and Jim Lett (bullpen coach) — save for the bench coach position. Pat Corrales served in that capacity under Johnson for the final three months of the season. He remains with the organization but in another position.
A World Series champion as both a player with the Baltimore Orioles and a manager with the New York Mets, Johnson quickly earned the respect of players in the clubhouse after joining Washington and helped fuel optimism for next season.
“Winning the pennant. Winning a division. Winning the National League,” Johnson said about his expectations for 2012. “I couldn’t have said that last spring. I didn’t think the talent was ready. After being there and seeing the progress that some young players made, I think we definitely can contend. I would be sorely disappointed if we didn’t do just that. The talent is there.”
Johnson spent the previous two seasons as special advisor to general manager Mike Rizzo and had been a consultant with the club on and off as far back as 2006. When Riggleman quit on June 23 moments after Washington had just won for the 11th time in 12 games, Johnson was the easy choice for Rizzo.
“The only question I had about Davey taking over was did he want to do it? Was his energy level and his focus going to be there?” Rizzo said.
It helped that during spring training Rizzo saw Johnson coaching with a renewed vigor, rarely without a bat in his hand to work out young infielders. Johnson signed a three-year contract with the Nats when he was named interim manager. That deal included an option to be the full-time manager in 2012, which the team exercised Monday.
Johnson has a career record of 1188-931 and a .561 winning percentage in 15 seasons. His teams have finished first or second in their division 11 times and have won five division titles, one pennant and one World Series.
With Stephen Strasburg back from Tommy John surgery to anchor the rotation, the emergence of slugger Michael Morse, expected healthy seasons from third baseman Ryan Zimmerman and first baseman Adam LaRoche and the progress made by young players like second baseman Danny Espinosa, shortstop Ian Desmond and catcher Wilson Ramos, Johnson believes the talent is on hand to do similar things with the Nats.
“I’m not just sticking out my chest and saying some hot air,” Johnson said. “My baseball instincts tell me that this is where we need to be. That’s where we need to go. And we can get there.”
