Nats' Rizzo: Martinez doesn't get 'nearly the credit' he deserves
Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo thinks the baseball world doesn't appreciate manager Dave Martinez as much as it should.
"I do believe that Dave Martinez did not get nearly the credit he deserved for guiding that team to win the World Series," Rizzo said Thursday on The Sports Junkies.
He added: "This guy was fifth in the Manager of the Year voting? Come on, what league were they watching?"
The Nationals appeared destined to miss the postseason when they sat fourth in the National League East at 19-31 on May 23. Martinez's job seemed to be in jeopardy, but, instead of panicking, he created the motto, "Stay in the fight," which the team rallied around.
Washington went 74-38 the rest of the way and rode that momentum to an eventual championship.
"If you look at how, where we came from and what we had to accomplish to get here, it wasn't easy," Martinez said after the Nationals clinched the title, according to Blake Finney of Federal Baseball.
"I'll be the first to say, you know, I never doubted these guys. I really didn't," he added. "All I kept telling myself (was), 'Hey, stay with them. Stick to the process, stay positive, teach. And as soon as everybody gets healthy, we'll make a run. We'll make a run. We'll get back in this thing.'"
Martinez finished behind winner Mike Shildt of the St. Louis Cardinals, Craig Counsell of the Milwaukee Brewers, Brian Snitker of the Atlanta Braves, and Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers for NL Manager of the Year.
He received three second-place votes and six third-place votes for the award.