Fredi Gonzalez: Where Does He Rank Among NL East Managers?
By Adam Greene
Oct 3, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper (34) and third baseman Yunel Escobar (5) celebrate scoring during the eighth inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Washington Nationals won 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
3. Dusty Baker (Nationals): For Dusty Baker, being 3rd in this ranking is pretty modest. The only reason Dusty Baker gets moved up above Fredi Gonzalez is that he’s won a NL Pennant with the Giants in 2002. Other than that, he’s pretty much on par with Fredi Gonzalez.
In truth, if Mackanin had more experience, he would probably be ranked ahead of Baker in this summation of NL East managers. Dusty is another manager that has spent his entire career in the National League. His best season as a manager was when he first took over as the skipper for the Giants in 1993 where he won 103 games. From there, Baker has not achieved the same level of success.
This move is pretty puzzling for the Nationals, which is fine by us because anything helps the cause of the Braves getting back on top. Baker last managed a squad for the Reds in 2013, in which he saw his team win 90 games. The Reds were also repleted with great hitting and pitching in that year. Granted, its tough to make headway in their division with the Cardinals forever looming, but Baker put together a streak of 90+ win games.
Perhaps a change of pace for Baker with a team of young talent and great pitching will finally have the Nationals living up to expectations, but until we see how he gels with squad it will remain a mystery. At least we can say we’re glad its him and not us who has to deal with the Harper/Papelbon feud. Yikes.
Next: Skipper of the NL Champs