While Blake Butera was named Nationals manager over two weeks ago now, he is just having his introductory press conference today. That is due to the fact that his wife gave birth to their first child the same
day he got the job. Now, a couple weeks later, Butera is ready to face the media.
The press conference is today at 1:30 PM. It will be live on MASN. Butera will be there, but so will new President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni. It will be interesting to see what he says about Butera as well. However, I have a few things I am looking to hear from Butera.
The first one is something we are likely to hear. I want Butera to talk about how he is going to change things in DC. The reason he is being hired is to help modernize this organization, and I want to hear about how he will go about that. We know he has already hired Simon Mathews to be his pitching coach and Michael Johns as bench coach.
However, I want to hear more about what the goals are for the staff. There are still plenty of open positions, including hitting coach. That hitting coach hire will be very important. Darnell Coles has been much maligned in recent years, with fans calling for an upgrade. Now we need to see an upgrade on Coles. The Nats young core is heavy on hitters, so developing guys like James Wood, Dylan Crews, CJ Abrams, Daylen Lile and more will be key.
The second thing I want to hear about is how Butera will create a new culture. At 33 years old, he is the youngest manager in over 50 years. For Butera to be a success, he will have to show he is the boss quickly. He cannot be seen as a pushover in the clubhouse. Fans want to hear about how he will build a culture in DC. The role of a manager these days is about developing talent, but even more so, it is about building a strong culture.
With Butera being so young, there will be doubts about his ability to build that culture. This press conference is a good opportunity for him to make a strong first impression. Nationals fans have not heard him speak before, so this will really be their first time meeting him. That makes this press conference even more important than the average first managerial presser.
One other thing I would like to hear is Butera talk about bringing in some experience. The Nationals are clearly going in a young direction, which I like. However, that needs to be balanced by experience. I actually think Butera has done some of that, specifically with his hire of catching coordinator Bobby Wilson. Michael Johns is also experienced, but not the grizzled former MLB manager many wanted Butera to hire as bench coach.
To be a great manager, you have to be mindful of your blind spots. That lack of experience is a blind spot for Butera, but it is one he can work around with the right hires. Obviously, the Nats still need a hitting coach and base coaches, but I am also curious what other positions will be added to the MLB coaching staff.
Lastly, I am also curious to hear from Toboni. We heard a bit about why he hired Butera in a zoom press conference, but this will be another opportunity for him to speak on the hire. Seeing what the dynamic between Toboni and Butera is like will also be interesting. They actually did not know each other before this process, but they seem to be very aligned.
This should be a very interesting press conference for Nationals fans. We get to hear from the team’s new braintrust for the first time. I am super excited to listen to them take questions and explain their philosophy. Make sure to tune in on MASN at 1:30 PM EST this afternoon. We will also be reacting to the press conference later today.
