Washington Nationals News: Nats introduce Dusty Baker, hire Davey Lopes

Good evening DoD readers, and welcome to today’s District Daily. Get caught up with the latest Nats news and opinions with some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web below.

In today’s Daily, Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post discusses some of the best moments from today’s introductory press conference for new Nationals manager Dusty Baker. As Steinberg notes, Baker dominated the press conference with many memorable quotes and funny moments.

Despite the chaos that led up to the Baker hiring, today’s press conference was an overwhelming success for the sixth manager in team history. Baker was funny and showed his wealth of experience as he discussed a variety of issues related to the Nationals and the city.

Hopefully for the Nationals, last week’s drama will be the low-point of the offseason and the energy and positivity from today’s presser will carry over into the rest of the winter and Spring Training.

Also in today’s Daily, Chelsea Janes of the Post discusses the Nationals’ latest addition to the coaching staff. As Janes writes in her article, the team hired former Dodgers and Nationals coach Davey Lopes to be the new first base coach. Lopes had the same role when he was with the Nationals in 2006, working under former manager Frank Robinson.

Be sure to check out both articles below, they’re definitely worth a read. And as always, stay tuned to DoD for all your Washington Nationals needs.

Dusty Baker wins the press conference with one terrific quote after another

(Dan Steinberg, Washington Post)

Dusty Baker is far more than a press conference star and world-class name-dropper. He’s an award-winning manager, a former standout player, a leader of men, a published author and so on.

But he’s also a press conference star and world-class name dropper. And so his introduction at Nats Park Thursday afternoon featured Baker mentioning one A-list name after another, one fantastic anecdote after another. A colleague, sitting next to me, said he would need 7,000 words for his planned Baker feature. Another mentioned once needing to pinch himself to stay awake during Matt Williams sessions; that won’t likely be a problem in this new regime. Read full article here.

Nationals hire Davey Lopes as first base coach, ‘still formulating’ rest of coaching staff

(Chelsea Janes, Washington Post)

The Nationals added another veteran coach to Dusty Baker’s staff Thursday morning, hiring Baker’s former Dodgers teammate Davey Lopes to serve as first base coach. Lopes was the first base coach for the Dodgers from 2010 through last season, and filled that same position with the Nationals under Frank Robinson in 2006.

Lopes, who managed the Brewers from 2000-02, played with Baker in Los Angeles for six seasons, and is his daughter Natosha’s godfather. Baker called Lopes “a longtime friend,” and said he will work with the infield and outfield in addition to his first base coaching duties. Read full article here.