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WaPost Report: Nationals To Interview Randy Knorr; Nats' Manager Search

Washington Post reporter Adam Kilgore wrote tonight that the Nationals are set to interview Randy Knorr, one of several candidates rumored to be under consideration to become the sixth manager since baseball returned to the nation's capital in 2005.

By Patrick Reddington
Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Washington Post writer Adam Kilgore reported today that Randy Knorr, "... will interview for Washington’s vacant managerial position 'soon.'" Knorr, who served as Davey Johnson's bench coach for each of the past two seasons is one of several candidates rumored to be under consideration to become the Nats' sixth manager. "People close to the Nationals suggest Knorr appears to be the leading candidate," the WaPost reporter notes in this afternoon's report.

"The ideal is to manage in your system, so you know the talent in your system. And that's the criteria." - Davey Johnson on ideal manager

Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo told reporters, including MLB.com's Bill Ladson, in July that Knorr would definitely receive consideration for the job when they interviewed candidates to succeed Johnson.

"'He’s certainly a manager-caliber bench coach at this point,'" Rizzo said then. "'Randy is a guy that I’ve had great respect for a long time. I think that he’s certainly a manager-caliber, he’s a manager candidate and he has a lot of manager capabilities and we love having him on the staff.'"

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Knorr, 44, a veteran of eleven MLB seasons as a catcher with the BlueJays, Astros, Expos, Rangers and Marlins, joined the Nationals organization in 2005 after his playing career ended in 2004.

"I think [Mike] Rizzo and I think a lot alike. He's a smart man, he probably won't need a whole lot of input and he'll make the right choice." - Davey Johnson on choosing the Nats' next manager

Davey Johnson, in talking about his eventual replacement, told reporters this summer that he believed the ideal manager is someone who's intimately familiar with the organization. "The ideal is to manage in your system," the outgoing Nats' skipper explained, "so you know the talent in your system. And that's the criteria. Having managed."

Asked if he would have a say in naming his successor, Johnson told reporters then he wasn't sure. "I don't know," he said, "that's a good question. You need to ask somebody else -- I think [Mike] Rizzo and I think a lot alike. He's a smart man, he probably won't need a whole lot of input and he'll make the right choice."

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 Photo © Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

When Rizzo was asked last week if Johnson would have any input, he told reporters, including NatsInsider.com's Mark Zuckerman, he would certainly seek out the advice of the 70-year-old veteran of 17 seasons as a manager. "'Of course we will,'" Rizzo said, "'It’d be a resource I’d be foolish not to tap into.'"

As a manager in the Nationals' system, Knorr was 384-380. He managed Savannah Sand Gnats (and Ian Desmond) in 2005. Knorr spent three seasons with the Class-A Potomac Nationals culminating in a Carolina League Championship in 2008, managed the Arizona Fall League's Scottsdale Scorpions in 2010 and the Double-A Harrisburg Senators (2010) and Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs (2011) before becoming Davey Johnson's bench coach in the last two seasons after having previously served as the Nats' bullpen coach for a time in 2006 and 2009.

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