ESPN REPORT: The Washington Nationals Head Coach is Being Fired Due to…
General manager Mike Rizzo said on Monday that the Washington Nationals fired manager Matt Williams and his coaching staff following a season in which the team went from being the favorites in the World Series to missing the playoffs.
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Resigning from a position can be devastating or relieving.The Nationals were led by 2014 National League Manager of the Year Johnette Howard Williams to an 83-79 record, which put them seven games behind the New York Mets in the NL East. The team’s 13-game slide from 2014 to this season was the second-biggest drop in National League history (the Brewers came in second with 14).
General manager Mike Rizzo stated, “This entire season was a disappointment,” on a conference call on Monday. “It wasn’t ourGreat year. Matt didn’t have the finest year. My year wasn’t the best. We weren’t at our best as a company that year. We all experience the disappointment together.”
Williams is the only manager to be fired during the season after receiving the award, which was originally given out in 1983, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Following a season-ending 1-0 loss to the Mets on Sunday, Williams stated, “We had some things that went sideways and we had a whole bunch of injuries, and there is not much you can do about that except adjust and move on.” “The result has left all of us feeling let down. Everything finishes so suddenly.”
Additionally, the Nationals announced on Monday that they will not be extending the contracts of Williams’ staff members seven: Randy Knorr, the bench coach, pitchedSteve McCatty as coach, Rick Schu as hitting coach, Bobby Henley as third base coach, Tony Tarasco as first base coach, Matt LeCroy as bullpen coach, and Mark Weidemaier as defensive coordinator.
The organization was ready to decide quickly regarding Williams’ future, according to Rizzo, who had stated on Sunday that it wasn’t “going to let people twist in the wind.”
According to Rizzo, the hiring procedure would start on Monday afternoon.
Under Matt Williams’ second season as manager, the Nationals missed the postseason despite being favorites to win the World Series in spring training. Getty Images/Greg Fiume
“A group of folks with a variety of experiences, backgrounds, and skill sets will be joining us. And I believe we didn’t do that the last time,” Rizzo remarked on Monday. “The last time webrought forward candidates for management who had little to no prior managerial experience.”
Rizzo stated that Knorr, a contender when Williams was hired, might be given another chance to be considered for that position.
In 2014, his first season on the job, Williams led the Nationals to an NL-best 96-66 record and the East division championship. The Nationals exercised his 2016 contract option in February. A 2017 team option was also included in his contract.
During spring training, Washington was favored to win the World Series—the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook put the Nationals at 5-1 to do it all—but the 2015 campaign was marred by setbacks and conflict. Additionally, there was the humiliating scene of Bryce Harper, the front-runner for the NL MVP, and teammate Jonathan Papelbon fighting in the dugout duringa match the day following the team’s elimination from the postseason.
Williams claimed that until much later in the day, he was unaware of the full scope of the skirmish. Williams claimed that despite being in the dugout at the time, he was unaware of all the details, including the fact that Papelbon had grabbed Harper by the throat. He said he hadn’t inquired about further information, and none of his coaches or players had immediately informed him about it.
“Not one single incident was the tipping point of making a decision with Matt Williams,” Rizzo stated on Monday. “Like I said during the season, [we were] going to take his whole body of work into consideration.”
Nobody was afraid to make predictions before the season started.Major things for Washington, not for the Nationals themselves, like Harper’s “Where’s my ring?” comment about pitcher Max Scherzer’s free-agent signing and Williams’ clubhouse post “The road to the World Series begins today.”
In contrast, the team disintegrated in the second half.
Williams’ run of questionable bullpen decisions didn’t start in 2015; rather, they were a major factor in Washington’s NL Division Series defeat to the San Francisco Giants the previous year.
A lengthy list of ailments also befell Williams, including long-term absences from the starting lineup of Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman, Anthony Rendon, and Denard Span. Throughout the entire season, only two games featured the perfect lineup.
