Washington Nationals manager Matt Williams did a great job in his first season as skipper last year. The Nationals were one of the best teams in baseball last season and Williams’ leadership played a key role in the team’s success. Today, the team rewarded Williams for his work by exercising his club option for the 2016 season.
"“We are happy to pick up Matt’s option for the 2016 season,” general manager Mike Rizzo said in a statement. “It shows the great confidence we have in Matt to continue to lead this team on the field.”"
The Nationals hired Williams to replace Davey Johnson last offseason with the expectation that Williams would turn things around for the Nationals. The team was coming off a disappointing 2013 season under Johnson in which they missed the playoffs after winning an MLB-best 98 games in 2012. The Nationals had grown weary of Johnson and wanted to bring in a new, younger manager to reenergize the ball club and bring it back to it’s winning ways. Williams accomplished all of that, and then some.
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Under Williams’ guidance, the Nationals won an NL-best 96 games and brought the NL East title back to Washington by a whopping 17-game margin over the second-place Braves.
Williams not only led the Nationals to their second NL East title in three years, but he did it despite the fact that the team was plagued by injuries all season long. Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman and Wilson Ramos, arguably the team’s three best hitters, all missed significant time on the disabled list. Nevertheless, Williams managed to work around the injuries and lead his team to the playoffs in his first season as manager.
"“During his rookie season, he helped us navigate through injuries and led us to our second NL East Division title in three years,” Rizzo said. “His leadership has earned him the respect of our players, coaches and his colleagues around the league.”"
While Williams certainly deserves credit for the team’s stellar 2014 season, it helped that the Nationals had one of the deepest rosters in the league and the best pitching staff in baseball. Unlike Johnson in 2013, Williams managed a team that performed how it was supposed to. But a team that suffers as many injuries as the Nationals did in 2014 can easily fall out of contention, and Williams did not allow that to happen to the Nationals.
While 2014 was a great season for Williams, it wasn’t always an easy ride. Williams was criticized heavily for several lineup decisions all season long, especially for batting Harper sixth. Williams also struggled in the playoffs, where he made several controversial decisions that may have hurt the Nationals in their NLDS shellacking at the hands of the Giants.
“Matt’s accomplishments on the field speak for themselves,” owner Ted Lerner said in the statement. “He takes great pride not only in how the game is played, but in our players. We are fortunate to have Matt as our manager and look forward to him leading us to new heights.”
While it wasn’t perfect, 2014 was a great first season for Williams and the Nationals. Williams was recognized for his success with the BBWAA 2014 NL Manager of the Year award and the 2014 Sporting News NL Manager of the Year award.
Of course, with great success and a great roster comes even greater responsibility. Williams excelled in his first year on the job, but the season ended in disappointment after the team made a shockingly early exit in the playoffs. That can’t happen this season.
The Nationals will enter the 2015 season with one of the deepest rosters in all of baseball and the best starting rotation in the game. If the team can stay healthy, the expectation is that it will come home with yet another NL East title and play deep into the postseason come October. Granted, there’s only so much the manager can do over the course of the season and success during the regular season often times does not carry over into the playoffs. Nevertheless, the Nationals have sky-high expectations for 2015 and Williams will be under immense pressure to succeed.
That said, there’s no reason to believe Williams won’t do well this season. With a year of experience under his belt and one of the most talented teams in baseball at his disposal, Williams appears poised to lead the Nationals to the next level in 2015. By picking up his option, the Nationals have shown their commitment and confidence in Williams not only for the 2015 season, but perhaps for years to come as well.
"“Matt’s accomplishments on the field speak for themselves,” owner Ted Lerner said in the statement. “He takes great pride not only in how the game is played, but in our players. We are fortunate to have Matt as our manager and look forward to him leading us to new heights.”"