Washington Nationals: Top 5 Dusty Baker Quotes For April 2017

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Apr 18, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Washington Nationals manager Dusty Baker (12) removes relief pitcher Blake Treinen (45) from the mound in the ninth inning against the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park. Also pictured is Nationals catcher Matt Wieters (32). The Nationals won 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /

April 11 – Adam Eaton Sleeping Like Tony Gwynn

"“Adam, I was telling him the whole time, Adam has to try to sleep like Tony Gwynn. He said that means you get two or three hits a night. I’m sure he’ll sleep well tonight.” (h/t Byron Kerr, MASN Sports)"

With Trea Turner going on the disabled list, it was up to Adam Eaton to be the team’s leadoff man. Fortunately, the Washington Nationals had Eaton on the roster, who had leadoff experience with the Chicago White Sox. In his second game for the Nats in that spot, Eaton had a career night.

Against the St. Louis Cardinals, the center fielder went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI’s in the Nats’ 14-6 win. That set the tone for Eaton as the leadoff hitter in D.C. In 16 games as the leadoff hitter, he hit .314 with eight walks, 11 RBI’s, and an on-base percentage of .388.

Unfortunately, Eaton won’t be the leadoff hitter anymore this season after tearing his ACL and meniscus and spraining his ankle in the loss to the New York Mets Friday night. But, while he was healthy, he was the spark that the offense needed while Turner was out.

Of course, he wasn’t going to put up Hall of Fame numbers like Gwynn did with the San Diego Padres. However, if you can imagine yourself having that success, you never know what you can achieve. Maybe that was the message Baker was going with when he made that comment.

Again, Baker isn’t psychic, but Eaton did have seven multi-hit games from April 10-April 27. He definitely will be missed in this lineup.

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