UPDATE: Here are the financials regarding Baker's deal.
Dusty Baker's contract with #Nats is a 2-year, $4 million guarantee with incentives potentially worth an extra $3 million.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) November 4, 2015
-----
The Washington Nationals were set to hire Bud Black as the franchise's sixth manager last week. However, contract talks reportedly fell through when the team's initial one-year, $1.6 million offer "shocked" Black, so the Nats are going with another skipper instead.
Dusty Baker will be the team's next manager, the Nationals announced on Tuesday.
The #Nats have named Dusty Baker manager: https://t.co/WvPl48C1eq #DustyInDC pic.twitter.com/DFIqJuPxn4
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) November 3, 2015
The Nationals and Black were said to have been exchanging contract proposals over the weekend, but the two sides were unable to reach an agreement, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Baker was the other finalist for the job and Washington agreed to a multi-year deal with the former Cincinnati Reds skipper, James Wagner of the Washington Post reported.
Baker, 66, has 20 years of managing experience with the San Francisco Giants ('93-'02), Chicago Cubs ('03-'06) and Cincinnati Reds ('08-'13). He owns a career record of 1,671-1,504 and has been to the postseason seven times, with his best run coming in 2002 as manager of the NL-champion San Francisco Giants. He also played 19 MLB seasons (1968-1986) with the Braves, Dodgers, Giants and Athletics and finished with a career stat line of .278/.347/.432.
Nationals' owner Ted Lerner issued a statement following the hiring of Baker:
"We were looking for a manager to help us achieve our ultimate goal of competing for a World Series championship. During our broad search process we met with many qualified candidates, and ultimately it was clear that Dusty's deep experience was the best fit for our ballclub."
Baker's wealth of experience and success at the MLB level should be a significant upgrade from Matt Williams, who had never managed before the Nationals hired him back in 2013. That lack of experience showed in 2015 when the Nationals were the most disappointing team in the MLB despite having one of the most talented rosters.
Stay tuned for updates regarding contract details, an introductory press conference and Baker's future coaching staff.
