October 31, 2013

Williams Official

The Washington Nationals made the hiring of Matt Williams official:

General Manager Mike Rizzo: “I could not be more pleased to welcome Matt Williams and his family to the Nationals and the Nation’s Capital. In some ways, my interview with Matt began during our days together in Arizona, where his undeniable toughness, attention to detail and intensity established a foundation for a Diamondbacks expansion franchise that reached the postseason in its second season and won a World Series two years later. All these years later, Matt’s preparedness for this position, knowledge of our roster, system and league set him apart. He is a fierce competitor with a progressive view of the game.”

Williams: “I feel privileged and honored to be a part of this team. It’s a wonderful group of guys and a great organization. I’m simply here to help take us to the next level.”

I like Matt as a player. One of the many thing lost in the 1994 strike was that Matt was on pace to set the National League record for home runs in a season, which at that time stood at 56. He hit 43 home runs in 115 Giants games (he played in 112), which would give him a pace of 60.5 for the season. As we saw with Chris Davis this season, those home runs can dry up quickly, but Williams had a very good shot at the NL record, and a decent chance to catching Maris as well.

He’s the second Williams to manage in Washington. Ted Williams managed the expansion Senators in their final three seasons in the nation’s capitol, then in the first season in Texas. They had a good first year under Ted, then got progressively worse.

It will be interesting to see how Matt handles Ryan Zimmerman. Ryan has trouble throwing. Williams was known for his defense, so maybe he can help correct Ryan’s problems.

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