NEWNow you can listen to Pak Gazette articles!
The Washington Nationals are ready to go off the beaten path with their reported managerial hire.
The team will hire 33-year-old Blake Butera as its new captain, according to multiple reports. Butera would become the youngest person to manage the Major Leagues since 1972.
Frank Quilici was also 33 years old in his first season as manager of the Minnesota Twins.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PakGazette.Com
Hudson Valley Renegades manager Blake Butera releases the lineup before Wednesday’s game at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill on July 10, 2019. (Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal via Imagn Content)
Butera had previously been senior director of player development for the Tampa Bay Rays. He was named to that position in October 2023 after spending four seasons managing in the minor leagues.
In his first season as a coach in the minor leagues, he was just 25 years old. During those four seasons, he had a record of 258-144 with four first-place finishes. In Butera’s last two seasons coaching Low-A Charleston, he won league championships and went 170-82.
Butera moved into coaching after spending two seasons as a player in the Rays’ minor league system. Throughout his two seasons in the minors, he had a .235 batting average.
BLUE JAYS A WORLD SERIES TITLE WIN AFTER TREY YESAVAGE’S DOMINANT GAME 5 PERFORMANCE
Blake Butera (10) of Team Italy poses for a photo during headshots of the 2023 Team Italy World Baseball Classic at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan, on March 4, 2023. (Mary DeCicco/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
He was selected out of Boston College in the 35th round of the 2015 draft. Butera played four seasons at BC and was the team captain.
The Nationals fired manager Davey Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo in July. The pair helped lead the franchise to a World Series title in 2019.
Hudson Valley Renegades manager Blake Butera poses at Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls, New York, on June 12, 2019. (Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal via IMAGN)
MartÃnez had a 500-622 record in nearly eight seasons at the helm. Interim manager Miguel Cairo had a 29-43 record after MartÃnez’s firing.
The Nationals hired former Boston Red Sox general manager Paul Toboni in September to replace Rizzo. They hope the combination of Toboni and Butera can help the Nationals get back to the World Series.
