PITTSBURGH – The Nationals have agreed to a contract extension with general manager and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo, the team announced Wednesday.
“I am honored and flattered to receive this extension,” Rizzo said. “I am honored that the Lerner family has entrusted me with the keys to the franchise for so many years. “I hope I’ve done a good job for them so far, and I look forward to continuing to bring respect and success to the Washington DC area and to the Nationals.”
Rizzo’s time with the Nationals dates back to 2006, when he became the Lerner family’s first recruit. After being promoted from Assistant General Manager to General Manager/Vice President on August 20, 2009, and to General Manager/Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations on October 19, 2010, Rizzo was promoted to his current position on August 1, 2010. 2013.
“Mike and I have spoken and worked together almost daily for 17 years,” Nationals principal owner Mark D. Lerner said in a statement. “Together with my family and the entire Nationals staff, we have always shared the same dream: to make the Washington Nationals a team that our fans can love and be proud of. We all worked together to build what was essentially a major league expansion team with no hope of competing for a World Series champion. “We’ve had some difficult losing seasons and hanging championship banners, and we’ve done it all together.”
Under Rizzo from 2012 to 2019, Washington’s .563 winning percentage was second-best in the majors, trailing only the Los Angeles Dodgers (.584). During that time, the Nationals won four NL East titles (2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017) and their first World Series title in 2019.
