Adam LaRoche returned to Washington Nationals because of Davey Johnson - MLB Update
First baseman, Adam LaRoche has not hesitated to claim that Davey Johnson was the biggest reason why he came back to the Washington Nationals.
His statement has come at a time, when he signed a two-year deal with the Nationals a couple of days ago.
The modalities of the contract are far from what he wanted in the first place. He had to agree to them unwillingly.
He has stated that Davey Johnson, the manager for the Nationals, was among the main reasons why he accepted the deal.
He is of the view that Johnson is the best skipper that he has ever played under, praising the way he implements strategies and assists players in performing at their potential.
LaRoche was outstanding both at the plate and in the field during the last season. He was arguably the most prolific run-scorer for Washington in 2012, as he struck home-runs and helped the team post substantial totals on the scoreboard time and again.
Besides this, he claimed the Silver Slugger honour.
At the moment, he is all set to replicate the performance in the upcoming season. Though he is ageing, he is still highly reliable.
The Nationals will be extremely pleased after having LaRoche in the team back on their own terms and conditions.
The club showed an extraordinary level of patience, while negotiating with LaRoche, never letting him feel that the team will agree to whatever he puts on the table.
LaRoche has uttered that he was told by the Nationals’ General Manager, Mike Rizzo that the club will not grant him a three-year deal.
"I had a couple of conversations with Riz, and he explained the situation in Florida -- he was very clear about it and he stuck with it," LaRoche said. "Toward the end, it wasn't necessarily the third year. It was more some of the smaller things -- working
out the buyout or whether we could do a no-trade clause or something like that."
LaRoche will try to forget all that happened with the Nationals during negotiations over disagreements.
He will look to continue performing exceptionally well and make sure he takes the Nationals to heights of success in the 2013 season.
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