WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Nationals say they have hired Dusty Baker as their manager.

The team announced the move on Tuesday, nearly a month after firing Matt Williams.

Baker's hiring means that Major League Baseball will avoid having zero black managers for the first time since the start of 1988 season.

The 66-year-old Baker has 20 seasons of managerial experience in the majors, most recently with the Cincinnati Reds, who fired him in 2013. He won NL Manager of the Year honors in 1993, 1997 and 2000.

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo let Williams go a day after the club, which had World Series aspirations, missed the playoffs and finished the regular season barely above .500 at 83-79, seven games behind the New York Mets in the NL East.

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