Mike Rizzo, Davey Johnson share vision of building franchise for the future

The air was crisp, the atmosphere convivial last Thursday as the Washington Nationals took batting practice at Wrigley Field. The 2012 season, one that carried more expectation and anticipation than any in the organization’s history, was near.

Behind the batting cage, general manager Mike Rizzo approached manager Davey Johnson. There, Rizzo reflected on the work that built these Nationals. He glanced out at a team on the verge, and then at the man who’d chosen to help bring them there.

“Man,” Rizzo said to Johnson. “I’m glad I got you here.”

Johnson, pushing 70 and managing his fifth major league team, turned and put his hands on the general manager’s shoulders. Their relationship born out of mutual respect that evolved into its current form as a result of the abrupt and absurd last summer, the two stood like that for a moment, then shared a hug.

“I was more glad,” Johnson said later, “that he was there.”

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Mike Rizzo became the Nationals’ full-time manager and senior vice president of ... more >

“You could see them looking at each other, smiling,” said special assistant to the general manager Harolyn Cardozo, who often serves as a conduit between the two. “It was this moment, this ‘We’re in it together, and we’ve got something good here,’ moment. That has to be unique.”

For an organization that just passed its eighth birthday and has a history strewn with moments of ineptitude and instability, the tranquility that presides over it now is incomparable.

For the two men who exemplify that stability most, the symbiotic nature of their relationship sets the precedent for the organization.

Dialogue, several Nationals officials said, is constant and encouraged. The prevailing thought being the same one Cardozo visualized between Rizzo and Johnson on Opening Day: We’re all in this together.

When Rizzo brought Johnson on as a special assistant, he wanted the man and his vast baseball knowledge by his side. But when the opportunity arose for Johnson to become the Nationals’ manager, one of several invitations he’d had since 2000, Johnson only agreed to it for this organization because Rizzo was at the top of it.

“Davey picked Mike Rizzo as much as Mike Rizzo picked Davey,” Cardozo said. “Period.”

“Today, right now,” Johnson said, “It’s a perfect fit.”

Baseball lifer meets rookie GM

Mike Rizzo has spent his entire professional life in baseball, from player to coach to scout to executive. Even then, his experience pales in comparison to that of Johnson.

When Rizzo got the GM job in 2009, he knew that in order for him to be successful he had to surround himself with “smart people.” Giving Johnson a more integral role was one of his first moves.

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