Jim Riggleman resigns as Nationals manager immediately after a win

Whether it was true or not, Riggleman felt as if the Nationals were merely keeping him around as a low-cost, low-leverage placeholder until the team was ready to contend, at which point, presumably, they would bring in a bigger name.

“I made it very clear that I didn’t like [it], but you know I can’t say no to it,” Riggleman said, recounting his conversations with team management when he signed the contract. “So there I am, and two years later, I’m realizing, ‘You know what? I was right. That’s not a good way to do business.’”

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In a surprise move, Jim Riggleman resigned as manager of the Washington Nationals on Thursday. The resignation came immediately after the Nationals completed a sweep against the Seattle Mariners.

More on this Story

• As Nats right the ship. skipper Riggleman resigns
• Q&A: Steinberg, 11 a.m., Friday
• Nats top Mariners with run in ninth
• Box score: Nationals 1, Mariners 0

View all Items in this Story

• Boswell: Riggleman shows he wasn’t long-term answer
• Riggleman knew his time could have been up
• Timeline: How the day unfolded
• McLaren is in charge -- for now
• An abundance of turnover in the D.C. area

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After lobbying for a stronger commitment from ownership failed to improve Riggleman’s standing, he asked to speak to Rizzo in his office. Riggleman said he merely wanted the promise of a substantive conversation regarding his contract. Rizzo characterized it as more of an ultimatum: Pick up the 2012 option, or I quit.

Whatever the case, Rizzo said he was not prepared to make a “knee-jerk” decision. As the game played out, Rizzo resolved to accept Riggleman’s resignation, if in fact it was tendered — which, after a second brief meeting after the game, it was.

“I’m disappointed at the timing of it,” Rizzo said. “We’re playing so well. Coming off a homestand that we should be celebrating going into Chicago, coming off a great month of playing baseball. I think we’re starting to really hit our stride. And I’m disappointed that this is a distraction. This is not thinking of the team first. It’s thinking of personal goals and personal things first. And that’s probably what disappoints me most.”

Riggleman said he asked to address the players, but the request was denied. Several players, though, trickled into his office to say goodbye before boarding their buses. It was no simple matter, reconciling their respect for Riggleman’s principled stand with the realization he had abandoned them in midseason.

“I can see both sides of it,” closer Drew Storen said. “I understand he needs to take care of himself. . . . It’s going to test us, but I think we’re going to get through it, and in the end we might even come out better.”

At 5:09 p.m., two buses pulled out from the bowels of Nationals Park, pointed toward Reagan National Airport, then on to Chicago. The future appears bright for the Nationals, never more so than on this day — with an above-.500 record, promising top prospects and a fan base starved for a winner.

But when Jim Riggleman looked at that future, he didn’t see a place for himself in it, and so the Nationals’ traveling party Thursday night was one person short.

Staff writers Adam Kilgore and Shemar Woods contributed to this report.