Johnson, who played and coached in the Major Leagues, was already on staff with the Nationals as a senior advisor to General Manager Mike Rizzo. Rizzo decided Johnson’s familiarity with the organization and professional experience as a manager made him the best fit to lead the Nationals for the remainder of the season.

 

ESPN Baseball Analyst Buster Olney did not need much time to decide who he thought would be the next manager of the Nationals. The same day the coaching vacancy occurred, Olney tweeted “If I had to bet the family farm—and I grew up on a family farm in Vermont—I’d bet that Davey Johnson will be the next manager of the Nats.”

 

Johnson spent two years coaching and leaving his mark in the Florida League.  Over ten of Davey’s former Florida League players are playing professional baseball. Some of the most notable of those players are Jimmy Nelson (Drafted in second round by Milwaukee Brewers, 2010), Peter O’Brien (Selected in third round by Colorado Rockies. 2011), Jabari Blash (Selected in eigth round by Seattle Mariners, 2010), and DJ Oliver (Taken in eighth round of this year’s draft).

 

Before arriving in Central Florida to coach in the FCSL, Davey Johnson had an outstanding resume both as a player and a coach in the Major Leagues. During the 14 seasons as a second baseman, he won two World Series with the Baltimore Orioles in 1966 and 1970, earned three Gold Glove Awards, and was selected to four All-Star games.

 

As a manager, Johnson called the shots for the Mets, Reds, Orioles, and Dodgers. The 1986 World Championship with the New York Mets and his influence in getting Cal Ripken Jr. to shift from shortstop to third base while Johnson was managing the Orioles highlights his career as a manager. Team USA also used Johnson’s managerial skills during the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009.

 

Johnson will officially take over as National’s manager on Monday when Washington travels to Los Angeles to take on the Angels. The weekend’s sports news programs and sports talk shows will most likely be filled with the pros and cons of hiring Johnson to manage the Nationals, but Johnson’s resume speaks for itself. He has had extensive professional success as a player and a manager. Most news stories will inform readers that Davey Johnson has not coached a team through a full season since 2000 when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but all those people close to the Florida League know that Davey Johnson was coaching a team the last two seasons: the DeLand Suns and Sanford River Rats.