New York — The big question for the Washington Nationals is a trivial matter for the man whom the answer affects most. Will Davey Johnson manage next season? His wife sometimes asks him what he’s thinking about next year. “I’m just totally not,” he responds, and they both laugh. It’s like when Susan Johnson tries to plan vacations three months away. Davey tells her, “Why don’t you just enjoy going to the beach today?”
Davey Johnson almost died once, and twice he experienced something worse than death. He is a man too wrapped up in the present to concern himself about the future. He’s also enjoying it too much. Johnson, 68, took the Nationals’ managerial position after years of declining overtures from other teams since his last big league job, with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2000. He liked ownership and General Manager Mike Rizzo, and the timing was perfect, so perfect it almost felt destined.
Johnson will remain with the Nationals through 2013 in some capacity. If by Oct. 31 he has not been named the Nationals’ manager for 2012, he will become a well-compensated consultant, maintaining an active and influential role in the front office. The expectation around baseball and around the Nationals remains that Johnson will return as the manager next season after the team conducts a managerial search, one mandated by MLB that requires them to interview a minority candidate.
For Johnson, there is no expectation. In the last two months, Johnson has gone 32-40 while focusing on using the last 2 ½ months to answer questions for next season. He wants to sort out the bench and the bullpen, to develop young starting pitchers and to gain players’ trust. He has thrown some of them batting practice. He thinks about where needs lie and how free agents might fit. When he took the job, he figured maybe 10 positions were up for grabs next spring training. He wants that reduced to two or three.
“With all that in mind,” Johnson said, “how in the hell can I be thinking about anything other than that?”
Strong partnership
Johnson has cherished his time as the Nationals’ manager. He and Susan, both independent people, made a rule more than 20 years ago that they would never spend more than a week apart. Susan spends four days at a time in Winter Park, Fla., tending to the clothing boutique she owns, and then four days wherever the Nationals are. The experience works for both of them.
“He seems younger to me now than he did with the Dodgers,” Susan said. “I think he’s fit and enjoying it. Maybe that’s the thing about getting life experiences. He seems very excited to go to work every day.”
Not long ago, Johnson’s health became a grave question. His appendix ruptured in 2004, and before doctors realized what was wrong they had taken a hole from his stomach. Before he had his appendix removed, doctors asked if he had a living will. After the operation, his weight dropped to 150 pounds. One of Susan’s employees suggested he take vitamin B12 shots. Johnson started gaining three pounds a week, and he developed the strength to manage teams in international competition.
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