Shocker: Unhappy with contract, Jim Riggleman resigns as Nationals manager
Jun 23, 2011, 4:13 PM EDT
Just minutes after the Nationals beat the Mariners with a walk-off sacrifice fly in a 1-0 game to move above .500 manager Jim Riggleman announced his resignation.
According to general manager Mike Rizzo this morning Riggleman expressed displeasure about his contract, which includes a 2012 option that the Nationals haven’t picked up, and said he would step down from the job if it wasn’t handled by the end of this afternoon’s game.
It wasn’t and he did.
What an odd situation, particularly with the Nationals playing their best baseball in … well, ever. Riggleman was clearly extremely frustrated by the entire situation, but to quit 75 games into the season, with the team winning 11 of their last 12 games, is shocking. Or maybe he’s just a huge George Costanza fan and a big believer in leaving on a high note.
By quitting now Riggleman does finish a season with a winning record for just the third time in 12 years as a big-league manager. His overall career mark is 662-824, which equals a .445 winning percentage that ranks as the fourth-worst in baseball history among managers with 10 or more years of experience.
UPDATE: Riggleman held a press conference and said he approached Rizzo requesting to “just have a conversation” about the contract and Rizzo refused, at which point Riggleman felt it was clear “I’m not the guy they want to go down the road with” and quit with three months remaining on his current contract.
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- royalsfaninfargo - Jun 23, 2011 at 4:21 PM
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I dont know much about Riggleman, but to walk out on a team like this shows no class.
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- b7p19 - Jun 23, 2011 at 4:23 PM
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Wow, talk about sticking to your guns.
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- bigharold - Jun 23, 2011 at 6:00 PM
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Too bad in doing so he shot himself in the foot with those guns.
While I can understand his frustration but the bottom line is he had a contract. Further I’d wager that it clearly spelled out not just the option but the time frame in which it could be exercised. Him thinking that he had a right to or that it was wise to force the issue seems a bit petulant and unprofessional. Good luck getting your next MLB manager job.
Regardless of whether or not he deserved his option being picked up, (frankly I don’t follow the Nats so I can’t say one way or the other), what he did was selfish and stupid.
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- seanb20124 - Jun 23, 2011 at 4:25 PM
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Nice job nats
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- Ari Collins - Jun 23, 2011 at 4:27 PM
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So he quit because they didn’t pick up his option early? That’s pretty lame.
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- goforthanddie - Jun 23, 2011 at 4:31 PM
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Being a lame-duck manager does have its disadvantages, on and off the field, so he has a point. And even if you decide to hire someone else next year, Riggleman wasn’t making that much that the Nats couldn’t afford to eat a year.
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- montanared - Jun 23, 2011 at 4:44 PM
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Riggleman signed the contract that gave the Nats the option year, right? Apparently this didn’t look that horrible to him then. Quitter.
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- imwhitewolf - Jun 23, 2011 at 8:48 PM
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Kinda reminds one of Sarah Palin, doesn’t it?
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- sahyder1 - Jun 23, 2011 at 4:32 PM
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Riggleman will get a bad rap here but it is quiet stupid to have a lameduck manager. The option should have been picked up. Its not like he was asking for a 3 year extension today or something.
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- kopy - Jun 23, 2011 at 4:37 PM
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I hope he really pulls a George Costanza, and shows up to work tomorrow acting like he never actually quit.
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- sabathiawouldbegoodattheeighthtoo - Jun 23, 2011 at 4:54 PM
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As long as I don’t have to see a picture of him in boxers and black socks on a chaise…
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- natstowngreg - Jun 23, 2011 at 4:37 PM
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It was no secret that the option issues was out there. It looked like Rizzo was biding his time before deciding whether to bring Riggleman back for 2012. But then the team started winning, and winning some more. Given the evidence of improvement, I’m not sure what Rizzo was waiting for.
Still, for Riggleman to leave his dream job — a local kid managing the local team — in mid-season, during a winning streak, is more than strange. There must be something going on that, hopefully, will be revelaed in the coming days.
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- yankeesjetsknicksrangers - Jun 23, 2011 at 4:44 PM
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He is on YES and WFAN.com right now.
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- joeflaccosunibrow - Jun 23, 2011 at 4:46 PM
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Rizzo called his bluff and lost. Good for Riggleman by keeping true to his deadline.
On the other hand, it’s not likely he was on any other teams radar this off season. He should have stayed put to keep his name relevant.
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- epn2 - Jun 23, 2011 at 4:47 PM
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Riggleman’s got “no class”?? Try the Lerner’s are the ones a little short on that quality. They must be thinking Dan Snyder is their role model. Riggleman shouldn’t have had to even be thinking about whether he was going to be around next year.
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- theotherfamousamos - Jun 23, 2011 at 4:49 PM
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What a baby. Like a little kid, he took his ball and cried all the way home.
To quit when things are going well because you want a guaranteed payday for yourself is selfish and shows a total lack of respect for your team. Had he kept managing and the team kept playing well, he would have been a lock for a job elsewhere next year or in a year or two. I hope he never gets another managing job. No GM should ever consider hiring this petulant crybaby.
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- SmackSaw - Jun 23, 2011 at 4:56 PM
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Something tells me he won’t be gone for long.
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- sabathiawouldbegoodattheeighthtoo - Jun 23, 2011 at 4:57 PM
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Why does he need to know about the extension? I know it would be nice, but really, he has a job to do and he should do it. Baseball is a game where contracts run out, and then guys are free agents. I don’t know how much more was going on behind the scenes, but to quit because of uncertainty about an option being picked up seems kinds lame.
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- luckynumberseven7 - Jun 23, 2011 at 5:03 PM
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What a bad way to go out. Putting yourself and your contract ahead of the team shows zero respect to the players on that roster that have went out and made that team so much more improved this season.
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- ncphilliesguy - Jun 23, 2011 at 5:04 PM
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Being a leader of men is about more than your contract. I have lost respect for Riggleman today, and I am disappointed for the good, young Nationals players. You can’t lay this on ownership. We all blast players when they don’t live up to their contract.
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- spudchukar - Jun 23, 2011 at 5:05 PM
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In my mind there is a big difference between arguing over money, and security. He had weathered quite a few tough times in Washington, and now was leading an emerging team. When your future is in doubt, I say do what you have to find out. With the Nats surging, now was the optimum time for him to determine what lies ahead for him. I don’t see it as him quitting on the Nats as much as them quitting on him. Good for him for sticking to his guns. He is a better man for it, and will manage again, hopefully somewhere where he is appreciated.
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- natstowngreg - Jun 23, 2011 at 11:12 PM
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Agreed. However, I’m left to wonder, why did Riggleman box himself in like that? He could have finished out the season and, if the team continued to improve, been in good shape to get a job somewhere else. Did he really need to thretaten to quit in order to find out where he stood?
In fairness to Rizzo, he may have decided that Riggleman was fine for now, but wasn’t the guy to get the team into the playoffs. As a Nats fan, I could have accepted that, if it was handled well. Rizzo did not handle it well.
BTW, I’m not letting the Lerners off the hook — at least, not until I hear more of the story. While they say they have given Rizzo the power to make the baseball decisions (something Stan Kasten didn’t always have), they also have a reputation as tough businesspeople.
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- klbader - Jun 23, 2011 at 5:15 PM
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I think this was a simple question of leverage. Riggleman had the Nationals winning — probably overachieving — and so he wanted to get the Nats to agree to pick up his option while the team was playing (likely) above its head and making him look good. The whole “lame duck” argument is countered by the fact that the Nationals are playing really well right now, so they obviously don’t care about their managers contract status. Maybe I am wrong about all this, but this situation just seems to be an example of someone deciding to negotiate at a time when he seemed to have a good bargaining position.
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- Chris Fiorentino's Rash - Jun 23, 2011 at 5:17 PM
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I like the NL East pattern. I hope Freddi Gonzalez is next.
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- mississippiguy - Jun 23, 2011 at 7:29 PM
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Ummm, why Fredi? Braves are second in the division and leading the WC, despite a seemingly endless rash of injuries…
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- snorkybluefog - Jun 23, 2011 at 5:42 PM
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What’s up with all the thumbs down for the comments that criticized Riggleman? Is he secretly on here repeatedly downvoting anyone that criticizes him?
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- haggisbingo - Jun 24, 2011 at 9:47 AM
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Simple. Most people think it was unfair not to have shown him more respect by at least meeting with him.
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- APBA Guy - Jun 23, 2011 at 5:52 PM
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Boy, see what I miss by having moved from DC years ago. I have no idea why a manager would do something like this. An abrupt resignation will not help him with other owners, who will look at this and see someone they can’t trust (not that they’re such a charming bunch either, but they’re making the hiring decision.). I wonder what more there is to this story.
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- nofunleague - Jun 23, 2011 at 5:59 PM
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Why is it that athletes think that contracts only work one way. If you aren’t happy, don’t sign the damned thing.
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- gatherspeed - Jun 23, 2011 at 5:59 PM
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The voodoo curse I put on this franchise when they left Montreal continues…..
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- soutsidemike - Jun 23, 2011 at 6:34 PM
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Riggleman – Palin in 2012
The two quitter ticket
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- haggisbingo - Jun 24, 2011 at 9:49 AM
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I agree with the Palin part. Not Riggs though..
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- behaviorquest - Jun 23, 2011 at 7:35 PM
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Good for Riggleman showing some class. He was right to do what he did if the CEO won’t give him the time of day. If they didn’t pick up his option he had no reason to stay. The blame on this one is with Rizzo.
