Dusty Baker is no stranger to playing with or managing superstar baseball players with larger- than-life personalities. The 66-year-old began his career in the majors playing in the Braves outfield with the legendary Hank Aaron and then went on to manage the likes of Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Sammy Sosa and Joey Votto. Now Baker gets a chance to work with slugger Bryce Harper - the potential National League Most Valuable Player - in Washington, D.C. "This guy can play," Baker said at...

Nationals president and general manager Mike Rizzo indicated today that reports last week naming Bud Black as the team's next manager were premature and incorrect. "That was wrong," Rizzo said. "We started off with nine candidates that we interviewed. Throughout the process, we went painstakingly through each candidate. We finally called back seven of them telling that they weren't in consideration for the job and whittled down to our two finalists with Bud and Dusty (Baker), and...

The Nationals introduced Dusty Baker as their new manager at a news conference Thursday morning at Nationals Park. Baker becomes the seventh manager in the club's history since arriving in D.C. in 2005. "This is a big occasion in my life and in my family's life," Baker said. "My son and daughter and wife are very, very excited. It was my wife and my son that really helped me make up my mind to accept and take this job because I had their total blessing. "They know that I had a burning...

Later this morning, the Nationals will officially usher in the Dusty Baker era with a press conference, which will be carried live on MASN at 11 a.m. Most of the questions - at least early on - figure to be dominated by searching for a clearer explanation on how the Nationals seemingly botched the hiring of Bud Black as manager only to turn back to Baker. Good luck getting an answer. Either way, last Wednesday night, the Nationals had found their man in Black. The 66-year-old Baker was...

On Aug. 31, we saw something on the diamond for the first time and something that we could see often in the future. We saw Manny Machado start at shortstop for the Orioles. It was his first major league start at short and his first professional start at the position since Aug. 8, 2012 with Double-A Bowie. While J.J. Hardy is signed through 2017 with an option for 2018, a day is coming when Hardy will no longer be the Orioles' shortstop. The best man to take over for a Gold Glover is probably...

The Orioles' winter shopping list begins with a starting pitcher and includes a potential replacement for Chris Davis at first base, at least one outfielder and at least one reliever. It also includes catching depth, especially if Matt Wieters leaves as a free agent. Caleb Joseph most likely would inherit the starting job, though he's an optionable piece on a roster that didn't offer enough flexibility this year. Steve Clevenger is out of options and could be a second or third catcher. I've...

The Nationals have agreed to terms with Mike Maddux to be their pitching coach and he will reportedly be introduced alongside new manager Dusty Baker on Thursday morning at Nationals Park, according to a team release. The club announced thatterms of the deal were agreed upon on Tuesday night. Maddux is considered to be one of the top pitching coaches in the major leagues, turning around a Texas Rangers staff that had had several seasons of plus-5.00 team ERAs prior to his arrival. During his...

Another baseball season has come and gone, but there's already a lot of news surrounding the Nationals following the hiring of manager Dusty Baker. Be sure to tune in to MASN and MASNsports.com today at 11 a.m. for coverage of Baker's introductory press conference. While we're looking ahead, we're also taking time to look back at some of our favorite plays and moments of 2015 in our annual offseason #TBT series. And what better way to start than reminiscing on Bryce Harper's absolutely...

Coverage of the Washington Nationals' press conference announcing the hiring of manager Dusty Baker will air live on MASN on Thursday, Nov. 5, beginning at 11 a.m. "Nats Xtra" anchor Johnny Holliday and Nationals color analyst F.P. Santangelo will host MASN's press conference coverage live from Nationals Park. MASN will air the full introductory press conference featuring Baker and Nationals president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo in a one-hour broadcast. The...

The Orioles and the Mayors' Feed the Hungry Program are teaming up again this year to collect and distribute food to help people in need in Sarasota. The Orioles will collect non-perishable food items at Ed Smith Stadium beginning on Monday, November 9, and will host the charity's Thanksgiving Sorting Day at the ballpark on Friday, November 20. Non-perishable food items may be dropped off at Ed Smith Stadium, located at 2700 12th street, on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The...