Dusty Baker on Dismissal: 'I'm Surprised and Disappointed'

Former Nationals manager Dusty Baker was taken aback by his dismissal from the Nationals.

After yet another division series exit for the Washington Nationals, the club announced Friday that manager Dusty Baker would not return to the team next season.

Baker was taken aback by the decision, telling USA Today he was "stunned it took the club 10 days to get back to him with a decision."

"I'm surprised and disappointed," Baker said, according to USA Today. "They told me they would get back to me and I told them I was leaving town yesterday and they waited 10 days to tell me."

Baker spent the past two seasons as Washington's manager, leading the team to back-to-back NL East titles and 97 wins in 2017. Baker's contract expired after the 2017 season.

"I really thought this was my best year," he added. "We won at least 95 games each year and won the division back-to-back years but they said they wanted to go [in] a different direction. It's hard to understand."

Washington went 192-132 in the two seasons under Baker, but failed to reach the championship series in either year after losing to the Dodgers in 2016 and the Cubs in 2017. 

In 22 seasons as a manager, Baker holds a career win percentage of .532 across stints with the Giants, Cubs, Reds and Nationals.