Through injury and mild controversy, individual slumps and winning streaks, a stellar regular season and a disappointing postseason, Washington Nationals manager Matt Williams rarely changed.
In his first year as a major-league skipper, he seldom overreacted. In many cases, he didn’t react at all. He watched most of his team’s games from the same spot on the dugout steps. The batting order, apart from sporadic rest and injuries, was usually the same. For Williams, consistency was key.
“It’s comfort,” he said in late September. “I think it helps you win.”
On Tuesday night, that consistency was rewarded as Williams was named the National League Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. He received 18 of 30 first-place votes for a total of 109 points, edging Pittsburgh’s Clint Hurdle (80 points) and San Francisco’s Bruce Bochy (30 points).
In American League balloting, Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter provided a Beltway sweep, receiving 25 of 30 first-place votes to beat out the Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Scioscia and Kansas City’s Ned Yost.
The award was Showalter’s third, joining honors he won with the Yankees in 1994 and the Rangers in 2004. Time will tell if Williams can match Showalter’s longevity in the dugout, but he’s 1 for 1 after his rookie managerial season — and was quick to deflect credit.
SEE ALSO: Matt Williams focused on 2015 as possible Manager of the Year honor looms
“I think it just means that our organization had a great year,” Williams said. “It’s a sense of pride, I think, for the organization. It’s a testament to Mike [Rizzo] and his staff, certainly our coaching staff who, I don’t know if there’s a staff that works harder at winning every day than ours. And I get to sit there and accept the award on behalf of them.”
Votes for the award were cast before the beginning of the postseason, so Washington’s first-round loss to the Giants in four games — and Williams’ questionable pitching decisions in Games 2 and 4 — did not affect his candidacy.
Williams becomes just the fourth first-year manager to be named manager of the year since the award’s creation in 1983. He is also the second Nationals manager in three seasons to be honored, joining Davey Johnson, who won the award in 2012 and retired at the conclusion of the 2013 season.
“What we accomplished this season would not have been possible without the right man at the helm,” Rizzo said in a press release. “That was Matt this season, and we’re all looking forward to 2015.”
Williams led the Nationals to a 96-66 record, the best in the National League, and a second division title in three seasons. They won the NL East by a margin of 17 games, the largest gap in the majors since 2008.
“These guys did it. I didn’t do anything except try to guide that at certain times,” Williams said. “Our players decided that they were going to be a good team, and that they were going to make the sacrifices necessary to get to where we wanted to get to.”
SEE ALSO: Buck Showalter wins 2014 American League Manager of the Year award
The Nationals reached such heights even as five of their eight Opening Day starters and two of their top five starting pitchers spent time on the disabled list. As the injuries piled up, Williams trusted bench players and minor-league call-ups to step up and fill the void.
That trust was evident on a daily basis, as Williams frequently repeated his “one day at a time” mantra in press conferences and didn’t let one game’s outcome affect the next. He seldom wavered in how he managed a game or used his pitching staff, even while drawing heavy criticism for that approach in the playoffs.
Over time, Williams grew to know his players individually and was able to more effectively manage them. This allowed him to read the pulse of the team, and respond accordingly.
“There’s a fine line between coaching too much and not coaching enough. They both can mess a team up,” former Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche said late in the season. “I think he’s just got a really good recipe for knowing when to just stay out of the way and letting guys play, and knowing when to step in and make a decision or address something that is an issue or whatever it is.”
In a telephone interview last week, Williams said he is already working 10-hour days to prepare for spring training. He is in the last guaranteed year of his contract, which also has team options for 2016 and 2017.
“Teams like this don’t come around very often. And I’m happy to be one of the guys on it,” Williams said. “At this point, I think we’re looking forward and can’t wait to get to Viera in February and start all over again.”
• Tom Schad can be reached at tschad@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.