When Blake Butera scrawls out his Opening Day lineup – he’s gone through “seven or eight” iterations already – and heads out to the Wrigley Field first-base line March 26, managerial history will be made.
Sure, at 33, he’ll be the youngest major league manager since 1972, a fact he and his Washington Nationals charges would prefer fade into the background. Yet there’s another bit of managerial minutiae that symbolically indicates the game is moving firmly into the Millennial era, with Gen Z coming up quickly, as well.
Butera will be the first big league manager named Blake.
He was mildly tickled when learning this factoid, though perhaps an oversize check or, better yet, a proven bullpen and a full-time first baseman might have been more thrilling.
“Anytime you’re the first of something,” he muses to USA TODAY Sports, “it’s kind of a cool opportunity.”
Opportunity is what the Nationals sold to Butera, a highly valued member of the Tampa Bay Rays who wore many hats in the organization – from Carolina League manager to senior director of player development – and now finds himself in a big league manager’s office.
And while names and labels aren’t everything, a Blake planting his flag in one of the game’s most coveted positions isn’t exactly nothing.
Out with the Bruces, in with the Blakes
Butera, you see, was born in an era of Peak Blake: The name did not appear on the Social Security Administration’s top 200 names for baby boys through the 1960s and ‘70s. But the Blakes broke through in the ‘80s, landing at No. 116 and reaching their apex in the 1990s at No. 84.
And in the state of Louisiana, where Blake Matthew Butera was born on Aug. 7, 1992, the Blakes outkicked their national average, landing at No. 36 in popularity in the Bayou State.
The Blake buzz has faded a bit, as it slid to No. 86 and No. 95 nationally in subsequent decades. Yet all the while you’ve likely heard the name far more often, perhaps at a child’s preschool, or on a youth sports team, the Blakes growing older and older until now – where Butera is a new father himself, his daughter Blair born Oct. 29.
That was the same day it was first reported that new Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni – himself a 36-year-old father of four – was making Butera his first manager.
It was one of eight jobs that needed to be filled last fall and almost the most surprising, aside from San Francisco hiring Tony Vitello to jump from college baseball to the Giants dugout. And while many of 2025’s ex-managers may manage again – Derek Shelton’s already been hired by Minnesota after Pittsburgh fired him – it’s worth noting who’s likely headed for retirement.
Bruce Bochy and Brian Snitker were born six months apart in 1955, won World Series as managers and likely left the managerial chair for good after 2025. Speaking of which, have you seen any babies lately named Bruce?
When Bochy was born, you sure did.
“Bruce” ranked No. 32 for boys in the 1950s, held steady at No. 47 in the ’60, fell all the way to No. 185 in the ‘80s and hasn’t been seen since. (“Brian” is a different story, staying in the rankings all the way, along with Michael, Christopher and Matthew. Tough to beat those Irish Celtic roots, along with saints, archangels and disciples).
Bochy is one of the greatest managers of all-time, winning four World Series titles with two franchises. Beloved for his gameday chops and old school demeanor, he was a master communicator.
And perhaps that’s one trait that’s lasted from the Bruces to the Blakes.
No time like the present
The Nationals just got done with their first training camp under an almost entirely new regime following the July firings of club president Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez. Butera urged his very young team to take chances early in camp, to try to stretch the limits of their potential and do “uncomfortable” things.
“Everything’s been good work,” shortstop CJ Abrams, an All-Star in 2024, tells USA TODAY Sports. “A lot of productive stuff. A lot of information and technology we’re putting to use. I think we’re ready.
“He’s the skip, and anything we need, communication has been good. We’re ready to go.”
Butera won’t be the first manager to be younger than some of his players; most recently, Rocco Baldelli, then 37, managed 39-year-old Nelson Cruz for the 2019 Minnesota Twins.
Somewhat remarkably, the Nationals are so young that only veteran starter Miles Mikolas, 37, is older than Butera, with 28-year-old catcher Keibert Ruiz the oldest regular. While the Nationals downplay the notion that their skipper’s age aids his relatability, Butera has proven he can appear well in any company.
“Blake is even-keeled and I admire that in him – how he can really regulate his emotions,’ says first-year Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz, who worked alongside Butera in the Rays’ organization. “He’s someone that could’ve stayed the front office route and been a GM someday, and now he’s a big league manager.
“It shows his versatility and how impactful he is and a lot of that stems from being able to navigate different conversations with different people – front office, players, coaches.”
Butera figures his youth sets an ambitious example, one that could resonate through what could be a lengthy rebuild: If you’re ready to achieve, why wait?
“My job is to work my butt off, make sure all these guys are fully prepared to play and we’ve set them up to have success,” he says. “I know I’m younger, and if it helps someone feel like they can accomplish something at a young age, I hope I can be that person to help them.”
'Treat people the right way'
You might say that as a young manager, Butera’s goal is to one day be an old manager. Should that come to pass, an entire wave of groundbreaking names will have inhabited the dugout.
Get ready for a Kai: Mets bench coach Kai Correa, born in 1989, should lock down a top job in coming years, perhaps ahead of the curve for a name that didn’t rank until the 2010s.
There are Jakes, Codys and Connors dispersed throughout major league staffs, and even two more Blakes on the Marlins staff – third base coach Blake Lalli and infield coach Blake Butler, the latter born a year after Butera.
Looking way down the road, the Liams, Masons and Logans who dominated maternity wards in the 2010s should one day get their due.
But for now, there’s just one Blake, just 33 yet offering advice that would play in any era.
“At the end of the day,” he says, “I’ll just tell anybody regardless of age, work your butt off, treat people the right way and care about people. And the rest is out of your control.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nationals' Blake Butera is MLB youngest manager for Opening Day vs Cubs
