Dusty Baker Named Nationals Manager

Dusty Baker is the new manager of the Washington Nationals, meaning Major League Baseball avoids what would have been its first season since 1988 with zero black skippers.

Baker has managed in the majors for 20 seasons. He takes over for Matt Williams, who was fired after his lack of experience proved to be a problem as the Nats -- the object of World Series hopes at the start of the season -- finished 83-79 and failed to make the playoffs.

"We were looking for a manager to help us achieve our ultimate goal of competing for a World Series championship," owner Ted Lerner said in a statement. "During our broad search process we met with many qualified candidates, and ultimately it was clear that Dusty's deep experience was the best fit for our ballclub."

Baker, who is black, becomes one of only two current managers among the 30 big league clubs who is a member of racial minority, joining the Atlanta Braves' Fredi Gonzalez, who is Hispanic. The Los Angeles Dodgers are the only team with an open managerial position.

"I am certain that the Nationals, like all of our clubs, hired the best person for the job. It is encouraging that in this case the best person turned out to be African American," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred wrote in an email to The Associated Press on Tuesday. "This is a positive step and I am intent on making continued progress on diversity in the managerial ranks going forward."

Terms of the deal were not announced. Baker, who will be introduced at a news conference on Thursday, becomes the Nationals' seventh manager since the franchise moved from Montreal to Washington in 2005.