Saying goodbye to D.C.

Jim Riggleman was the manager of the Washington Nationals from mid 2009 to June 23, 2011 when he suddenly resigned. In that time Riggleman won 46% of his games, a better winning percentage then any season since 2005 (the team finished 81-81). On the surface it doesn't seem like the resigning of a manager who is under .500 seem like that big of a deal, until you dig a little bit deeper.


When Riggleman took over the team in 2009 they were an ML worst 26-61. Under Riggleman the Nationals finished the final 80 games at 38-42, quite the feat when you consider the roster that the Nationals had. In 2009 only two members of the Nats had more than 62 RBIs (Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn both had over 100), only one player with more than 31 at-bats hit over .300 and not only two players had double digit steals (N. Morgan 42, W. Harris 11). Needless to say the team was not an offensive juggernaut. As for pitching, the two leading game winners were Livan Hernandez and John Lannan, both of whom had only nine wins. For Riggleman to win almost 48% of his games with a roster like this shows just how good a manager he is.


In both 2010 and 2011 Riggleman led the Nats to improving records, finishing 69-93 in 2010, an 11 game improvement on 2009. In recent weeks the Nats have won 11 of 12, and on the day that he retired his Nationals went over .500, a record they have not had this late in the season since 2005. So given all of the positive signs and considering that next year the Nats should get considerably better with the return of pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg and hitting superstar Bryce Harper, why would Riggleman quit?


According to Riggleman it's because he felt disrespected by the Nationals organization, they refused to offer him a contract extension. He told General Manager Mike Rizzo earlier this week that he would quit if he did not get a contract extension for 2012, and despite this ultimatum Rizzo refused a meeting with the manager; apparently trying to call his bluff. But Riggleman was not bluffing, after managing a great game in which a pinch runner and pinch hitter both made key plays in the bottom of the ninth Riggleman announced his resignation. While speaking to reporters after the game Riggleman said, "I'm 58, I'm too old to be disrespected."


I could not agree more. Riggleman has proven over and over again that he knows how to manage this team. The team's record has improved every year that he has managed it, and they were on pace for their best finish since 2005, and maybe ever. Why wouldn't the Nationals want to sign a proven asset to an extension? Because he isn't a big name? Because he doesn't make headlines like Ozzie Guillen? It doesn't make any sense. What makes a manager a big name? Winning, that's what, and that is exactly what Riggleman was beginning to do. I can't even imagine how good of a team Riggleman could have had next year ones Strasburg and Harper arrive, combined with a solid young core and all-star caliber players like Jason Werth and Ryan Zimmerman the Nationals could have been relevant for the first time since...EVER!


I think that the best way to describe why this move is so strange is a short story. I was watching ESPN the day before Riggleman's resignation and a Nationals highlight came on, a game that they had won. The person I was watching with turns to me and says, "the Nats are gettin' better aren't they?" To which I responded simply, "They don't suck." Which is something that before Jim Riggleman took over I could have never said, and that has to count for something.

Riggleman retired on June 23, 2011