"When you talk with players and work with players, I think the last thing they look at is how old or young somebody might be," Butera said. "What's most important to them is do you care about them as a person first and are you going to do everything you can to help them become the best version of themselves on and off the field."
"It certainly was not the first time Blake Butera had been asked about his age. It certainly will not be the last. But on Monday, during a news conference for the new manager of the Washington Nationals, the third question about these circumstances - about being a 33-year-old in this role with no prior big league experience - well, that made him break a bit."
"He grinned as his face reddened. He swayed in his seat on the dais as he waited for the question to finish. He chuckled under his breath, a chuckle that was drowned out by louder laughs from his dad and brother, who were sitting in the front row. Making history as the youngest manager in more than 50 years invites these kinds of questions. No one seemed to be more aware of that than Butera, who didn't seem to mind."
Blake Butera, 33, was introduced as the Washington Nationals' eighth full-time manager in front of family, ownership and a mix of old and new front-office faces. He has no prior big league managerial experience and repeatedly fielded questions about his age, reacting emotionally at the news conference. Butera emphasized that players care more about whether a manager cares for them and will help them develop on and off the field. The hiring was completed just after his daughter Blair's Oct. 30 birth; he was offered the contract before the birth and signed it the following day. Caroline was adamant their daughter should be at Monday's news conference.
Read at The Washington Post
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]