The Washington Nationals have opted not to renew the contract of manager Dusty Baker despite leading them to back to back NL East titles in his two seasons at their helm.
Unfortunately for Baker, the Nats were eliminated in both NLDS contests. A year ago they were eliminated by the Dodgers and this year were eliminated by the Cubs in an evenly matched five game series.
Perhaps Baker can go on a fishing trip with John Farrell who was dismissed by the Boston Red Sox despite winning back to back AL East titles (not to mention a World Series title) but made the mistake of being eliminated in the ALDS by the Cleveland Indians and Houston Astros, respectively.
Clearly, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo hasn't considered the fate of the team that last fired Baker - the Cincinnati Reds. After not reaching the post-season since 1995, Baker led the club to NL Central titles in 2010 and 2012 as well as a NL Wild Card berth in 2013. However, the Reds failed to advance to the NLCS in '10 & '12 and lost to the Pirates in the NL Wild Card Game in '13. So the Reds fired him.
In four seasons under Bryan Price, the Reds haven't had a winning record and three consecutive last place finishes. Sometimes you don't know what you've got until it's gone.
The Washington Nationals are going to regret letting Baker go and will be in for a rude awakening in 2018.
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