Washington’s GM Mike Rizzo told reporters, including Washington Times’ writer Thom Loverro in early October that he felt former Nationals’ manager Davey Johnson was a future Hall of Famer.
Johnson, 73, followed up on a 13-year career as a player with 17 seasons on the bench in the majors, managing the New York Mets (1984-1990), Cincinnati Reds (1993-1995), Baltimore Orioles (1996-1997), Los Angeles Dodgers (1999-2000) and Nationals (2011-2013).
He won the World Series with the Mets in ‘86, and took the Nats to the postseason for the first time in franchise history (2005-present) in 2012, bringing postseason baseball back to the nation’s capital for the first time since 1933.
Overall he led six of his teams to the postseason in his 17-year career as a manager and Johnson managed his teams to a total of 1,372 wins, earning Manager of the Year nods in 1997 and 2012.
“I’d vote for him [Johnson] for the Hall of Fame tomorrow,” Rizzo said, as quoted by Loverro.
“He’s turned teams around, he’s won Manager of the Year … to me, the Hall of Fame is for the best of the best, and he is in that team photo.”
Johnson was one of ten names on the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Game Era Committee Ballot this year, as voted on by the 16-member Today’s Game Era Committee.
A total of 12 votes were needed for election to the Hall of Fame.
“Any candidate who receives votes on 75 percent of the ballots cast by the 16-member Today’s Game Era Committee,” a press release on the ballot explained, “... will earn election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and will be inducted in Cooperstown on July 30, 2017.”
Johnson told Loverro he was humbled by the honor of even being included on the ballot.
“It is a great honor,” Johnson said in October.
“I never really think about personal rewards. I always took satisfaction in the fact that players played good for me and played up to their potential.”
Joining Johnson on the ballot this year were Braves’ executive John Schuerholz, former Commissioner Bud Selig, Lou Piniella, Harold Baines, Albert Belle, Will Clark, Orel Hershiser, Mark McGwire and George Steinbrenner.
Only Schuerholz (16 votes) and Selig (15 votes) received enough votes. Both will enter the Hall of Fame this summer. Piniella received seven votes.
Johnson, Baines, Belle, Clark, Hershiser, McGwire and Steinbrenner, “each received fewer than five votes,” according to the Hall of Fame’s press release on tonight’s announcement.