It was delayed due to the birth of his daughter Blair, but Blake Butera was finally introduced as the 8th manager in Washington Nationals history. He did a joint press conference with new Nationals POBO
Paul Toboni. The dynamic young duo took on questions about their age and what direction they will look to take a franchise which has struggled mightily since their 2019 World Series win.
The biggest thing both Butera and Toboni emphasized was the importance of character. It is the one thing both of them repeat constantly. Toboni loves saying that you win with people. Butera and Toboni are very much on the same page when it comes to that philosophy.
Butera certainly seems to think that building relationships is the best way to unlock a player’s potential. When you have the trust of the players, it is much easier to help them become better. They are more willing to listen and take to coaching.
While Butera has not been able to talk to players in person yet due to his paternity leave, he has talked to them over the phone. He said he was very impressed by them. One thing both he and Toboni are eager to do is get players on the current roster to hit another gear. Both emphasized that a lot of these players have untapped potential, a statement most fans would agree with.
The coolest story to come out of this presser actually came from Paul Toboni. When he was just starting his search, Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza actually called Toboni to tell him about how Butera would be a great candidate for the job. Piazza and Butera worked on the same Team Italy staff at the WBC.
Piazza’s call to Toboni actually came before the Nats had even reached out to the Rays to talk to Butera. The fact that a Hall of Fame player thinks so highly about a 33 year old coach says a lot. If he can earn Piazza’s respect that much, he should be able to win over a locker room.
As you would expect, Butera’s age was a topic of conversation at the press conference. He is the youngest MLB manager in over 50 years, but he is not too worried about that. Butera did not make a big deal about his youth. Interestingly, he did not say he was prioritizing experience on his staff. Instead, he said he was looking for people that align with his vision and coaches who were the best candidates.
It is easy to see why Butera and Toboni would like each other. Both are young and slick guys who are very ambitious. Toboni told a fun story about how he went down to Raleigh to interview Butera. They ended up spending the whole day together and were talking in the car for hours.
These are two young, like-minded and bright guys. Alignment is one of those buzz words that is thrown around a lot these days, but it is very important. People need to be on the same page at all levels of an organization for things to function to the best of their ability. Toboni and Butera are aligned and seem to share the same vision.
When Butera was asked about the team’s timeline to start winning, he said he trusts Toboni’s vision. That vision will include a heavy emphasis on player development and analytics. Butera stated that data and analytics will be involved in his process and something he will look at every day. There were times in the past where it felt like the data was ignored. That will no longer be the case.
Overall, I am impressed by him. Butera is clearly a baseball rat who is very ambitious. He was coached by his dad growing up and made it clear that he loves being a competitor. That is what drew him back into managing despite being a player development guy the past few years. Butera wants to win and make his players better.
Only time will tell if this is the right hire. It is possible that he is too green, but he checked some boxes in his press conference. I am not sure how this new era of Nationals baseball will go, but I am fascinated to watch it all play out. Welcome to Washington, DC Blake Butera!
