This story was excerpted from Jessica Camerato’s Nationals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
WASHINGTON -- Padres right-hander Michael King had only started once against the Nationals in his eight-year career, but Nats manager Blake Butera had a unique historical scouting report for Saturday’s matchup.
“He’s somebody actually I played with in college,” Butera shared. “He was my teammate.”
Rewind just over decade to the 2014 and ‘15 seasons at Boston College. King was in the beginning stages of his collegiate career; Butera was in his final two seasons with the Eagles. Butera remembered a “close-knit” team, where a pitcher and infielder became good friends.
“We'd always try to play pickup basketball games together,” Butera said. “But he's a lot bigger than I am, so he got me pretty good.”
Before King was selected by the Marlins in the 12th round of the 2016 Draft -- and long before he signed a three-year, $75 million contract with San Diego in December -- Butera remembers a teenager from Rhode Island who had the tools and the drive to succeed.
The same offseason that King joined the Padres, Butera was hired as manager of the Nationals at just 33 years old. He became the youngest manager in the Majors in half a century.
“Super happy for him,” King said. “He's doing a great job over there, too. But I would have liked to given him a loss today.”
The Nationals didn’t have much of an answer for King through the first six innings. Even though Butera stacked lefty hitters to counter King’s effectiveness against righties, King held the Nats to just one run until a seventh-inning rally. He ended up on the losing end when they staged a six-run comeback.
“It was tough, because you have a soft spot for him, of course, because of the relationship we have and the times that we battled together when we were younger,” Butera said. “But at the end of the day, you want to see your team do well against him.
“I’m always pulling for him. The only time I won’t be is when we're going up against him; hopefully that doesn’t happen too many times. I just love watching him pitch, and he’s really good for a reason.”
Butera took a 1-0 lead over King in their first Major League matchup. Consider it redemption for their college days on the basketball court.
“He's a little guy, I've got to assert my dominance over him,” King said with a smile. “He got the win today, so he can hold it over me until the next time we face him.”