The DC Pro Sports Year in Review, Part 2
Part one of the 2012 DC Pro Sports Year in Review series covered Story of the Year, Team of the Year and Sportsman of the Year.
We continue our 2012 DC Pro Sports Year in Review with a look at the Coach of the Year, Executive of the Year and Decision of the Year. Look for future articles with more year in review awards coming up soon...
Coach of the Year -- Davey Johnson
How many people saw this coming a year or two ago. Johnson had been out of Major League Baseball for 11 years when the Washington Nationals, desperate for a skipper to guide their young team, coaxed Johnson away from the Florida Collegiate Summer League in 2011. Plagued by health scares, family tragedy and a lot closer to 70 than 60, few considered Davey Johnson the hot new managerial prospect. After several years serving as a senior advisor to the team, Johnson became the manager in June 2011 after Jim Riggleman quit on the team. Johnson finished the 2011 season with the team and on Halloween of that year the team announced Johnson would pilot the squad in 2012, as well.
All Johnson did was lead the young Nats to an 18-game improvement over 2011, the best record in baseball and the first winning record in the history of the franchise in Washington, D.C. That Johnson is manager of the year isn't just our opinion at DC Pro Sports Report -- he won that honor handily in the National League this year, easily beating rivals Dusty Baker and Bruce Bochy. This made Johnson one of only six men to win the award in both the American and National leagues.
Johnson was the oldest manager in the Majors in 2012 and in January 2013 he turns 70. This coming year will be Johnson's last as a manager in Major League Baseball. He cited "unfinished business" as the reason he will manage one more year. The brutal loss in game 5 of the NLDS hangs over him and the team as the sole dark spot on an otherwise sparkling and brilliant campaign.
“We made a lot of progress from 2011 to 2012,” Johnson said. “And I was real pleased with the guys. I think we can go further. And I think a lot of inexperience caught up to us a little bit. There’s still room for this club to grow. We’ve still got some young guys that have higher ceilings. We made better steps. A lot of guys came through for being awful young. And now we have more experience and what adjustments to make to be more successful.”
With ace Stephen Strasburg returning for a full season in the game's best starting rotation and Rookie of the Year Bryce Harper a year older, wiser and better, there's no telling what Davey Johnson will accomplish during his final year in the game he loves.
Executive of the Year -- Mike Rizzo
If Davey Johnson was the pilot of the 2012 Washington Nationals, Mike Rizzo was the architect. After a fine career as a scout, Rizzo joined the Nationals in 2006 as assistant General Manger under Jim Bowden, but took over the top job on an interim basis when Bowden resigned in disgrace in March 2009. He got the interim tag removed in August of that year and received a 5-year extension from the club in 2010.
Rizzo made a number of smart moves that paid off in 2012 and will pay off in future years, as well. His last decision of the year, to bring Davey Johnson [see above] back in 2013 was a smart one, but also a no-brainer. Requiring a bit more thought was trading four promising minor leaguers to the Oakland Athletics for starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez, a move that paid off handsomely. Gonzalez won a career-high 21 games and lost only 8 -- his lowest total in any season with more than 20 starts. His ERA of 2.89 was another career-best. His 207 strikeouts is tops in his career and the 76 walks the lowest i any season with more than 20 starts. At only 27 years of age and with several more years under contract, the Nationals look forward to a lot more pitching gems from Gio in the seasons to come.
With Wilson Ramos injured and out for the season and Jesus Flores struggling at the plate, Rizzo went back to Oakland and traded for catcher Kurt Suzuki in early August. Suzuki immediately solidifed the position and became a favorite of fans, pitchers and manager Davey Johnson. In addition to his fine fielding, Suzuki hit .267 with the Nats, his highest batting average since 2009. Suzuki played in all five playoff games, reaching base six times. He figures to be a key part of Washington's roster in 2013.
Rizzo drafted or traded for 20 of the 25 players on the Nationals' playoff roster so he can truly be said to be the man who put that terrific team together. More awards await Rizzo, no doubt, should the Nationals take the next step and fulfill their destiny as world champs.
Runner-up for Executive of the Year -- Mike Shanahan
DECISION OF THE YEAR -- Redskins trade 4 high draft picks for #2 pick in the NFL Draft
On March 12, 2012 the Washington Redskins traded their first round picks in 2012 [6th overall], 2013 and 2014, as well as a second round pick in 2012 39th overall], to the St. Louis Rams for their first round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the second overall selection. The move was made for one reason -- to draft Heisman Trophy winner and Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III. Although team owner Dan Snyder no doubt signed off on the deal, the author of that trade was Washington's head coach and boss of all personnel decisions, Mike Shanahan. The Redskins acknowledged the steep price they had to pay:
"We understand it was a heavy price but when you bought your home you probably wanted to pay a little less too," Washington general manager Bruce Allen said Saturday. "But you like your home once you live in it."
The Redskins had not had a winning season since 2007 and had spent every year since in last place in the NFC East. A once-proud franchise had become a laughingstock and a symbol of everything a team should not do with one bad personnel decison after another. Turning all that around would not be easy, but it began with one big, momentous decision. A decision that would surely end the career of Mike Shanahan in Washington -- and perhaps the NFL -- if it did not work.
So far, it has worked. With Redskins quarterbacks Rex Grossman and John Beck throwing 24 interceptions in 2011, Washington needed a playmaker who would make good decisions at quarterback. Enter Robert Griffin III, the DC Pro Sports Report Sportsman of the Year for 2012. Through the first 15 games of the season, Griffin has thrown only 5 interceptions and lost 2 fumbles. Against that puny number of 7 turnovers, Griffin has thrown 20 touchdown passes and run for six more. Griffin has led the offense that has committed fewer turnovers [14] than any other in the NFL. In 2011 the Redskins offense turned the ball over 35 times, third-worst in the NFL. As a consequence, Washington's turnover ratio has gone from -14 in 2011 to +14 in 2012 -- second-worst to third-best.
Washington's went from scoring 18 points per game in 2011 -- 26th in the NFL -- to 27.2 points per game in 2012 -- good for 4th-best in the league. The Redskins went from a 73.3 passer rating under Grossman and Beck to 104.1 under RG3, second-best in the NFL. Meanwhile, Griffin's 752 rushing yards is a record for NFL rookie quarterbacks. On December 26 Griffin became the first rookie quarterback to be named to the original Pro Bowl roster since Dan Marino in 1983.
Finally, the most important statistic of all -- the Redskins went from 5-11 and last place in the NFC East to 9-6 and playing for the division title in the final week of the regular season. The decision to trade for RG3 turned the Redskins from a perennial loser to a playoff contender in one fell swoop.
Meanwhile, the draft pick the Redskins will yield to the Rams in 2013 will not be nearly so valuable as the Rams no doubt hoped it would be. Instead of picking in the top ten, the St. Louis will have to wait until well into the second half of the first round to use Washington's pick. Currently, the Redskins pick would be 22nd overall and may fall even further if the Redskins win their division and perhaps even a playoff game.
Although Mike Shanahan made other good decisions in 2012 that have contributed to the Redskins' success this year, the trade for RG3, far more than any other one single move, has transformed not only the team, but also the reputation of the man who guides that team. This one decision helped make 2012 the year Mike Shanahan became a smart guy again.
Part one of the 2012 DC Pro Sports Year in Review series covered Story of the Year, Team of the Year and Sportsman of the Year.
