Nationals exercise 2016 option on manager Matt Williams
By CM Towle
The Washington Nationals exercised their 2016 club option on the contract of manager Matt Williams on Saturday.
The Nationals will be keeping 2014 BBWAA National League Manager of the Year, Matt Williams in the dugout for at least another year after this one. That’s because Washington picked up Williams’ club option for one more year on Saturday, according to a story by Curly W Live, the official Nats blog.
"“We are happy to pick up Matt’s option for the 2016 season,” said Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo. “It shows the great confidence we have in Matt to continue to lead this team on the field.”"
Williams hit the ground running for the Nationals in his rookie season last year. He navigated through injuries and brought the Nationals their second NL East Division title in three years. The Nats also had the best record in the National League with 96 wins in the MLB regular season. He reportedly worked to create a culture of accountability within the clubhouse and hard play on the field. Williams arguably had one of the most talented rosters in baseball to work with last year, and not much has changed this year.
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The organization had nothing but glowing things to say about Williams when the club option was announced. Managing Principal Owner Theodore N. Lerner said that Williams’ accomplishments with the club speak for themselves and that he takes a lot of pride in both playing the game and in his players. The organization is obviously looking forward to working with Williams for at least one more year.
The Nationals began the 2014 season with a variety of injuries, but soon soared to a commanding lead in their division. The lead of 17 games was the largest lead in the league for the season. It was enough to earn Williams the 2014 BBWAA National League Manager of the Year award and the 2014 Sporting News NL Manager of the Year award. That made him the first rookie manager since 2006 to win the award and only the fourth in history to win the BBWAA award.
The Nationals lost in four games in the first round of the post-season to the eventual World Series champion Giants.
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