Ian Desmond hopeful of Davey Johnson staying longer than 2013 as manager - MLB Update
As Davey Johnson signs a one-year deal with Washington Nationals, one of his players namely Ian Desmond is hopeful that he will stay in the team beyond 2013.
Desmond is of the view that Johnson is a natural manager, which makes him capable of doing this job for a number of more years.
Ian is one of those players that worked closely with Johnson during the last season. Right from Spring Training until the conclusion of the season, he capitalised on the presence of Johnson as skipper by taking valuable suggestions for improvements from
him.
Johnson helped him in developing a sound technique at the plate.
The fact Desmond was one of the most successful batters for the team in 2012 can be considered as part of the contributions that Johnson made for the club this year.
Furthermore, Desmond was among the finalists for the Gold Glove Award at shortstop, which was later won by the Philadelphia Phillies’ Jimmy Rollins.
Being named as part of the candidates was an achievement for Desmond. It showed that he remained an important component of an arguably successful campaign of the Nationals.
Desmond is happy with the fact Johnson will be managing him once again.
When he was asked to comment on the possibility of Johnson remaining their manager beyond 2013, he expressed his optimism in this regard. He is fully convinced that Johnson can lead their team longer than one year.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” he said. “He’s a baseball man. He’s got it in his blood. … It’d be nice if he signed a five-year deal. But at the same time he’s saying he’s going to be a consultant and it’s even though he’s not going to be on the field
it’s not like we’re not going to see him again.”
Talking about the official announcement by the Nationals confirming Johnson as skipper for 2013, Desmond has stated that he is not surprised. It was highly expected, according to him.
“We all kind of assumed he’d be back,” Desmond said.
Johnson knows the culture of the team very well. This along with the fact that he is an experienced manager can provide the Nationals’ fans with a hope that they can achieve something substantial next year.
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