"On the final day of the 2011 season, as the Washington Nationals prepared to put the final touch on one of the franchise's best months, Davey Johnson called players into his office one by one. The Nationals had guaranteed a third-place finish and improved by 10 victories over the previous year. For Johnson, the progress represented a signpost, not an end point. He wanted his players to know.

"I'm in this for the long haul, and I want to finish this up," Johnson told them. "I don't want to come in here for a year. I want to stick around.""