Photo used under a Creative Commons license with MissChatter.

Halfway through the 2011 season, Davey Johnson took the reins of a team that spent its first seven years bouncing around the lower rungs of the National League East division. This year, that team finished with the best regular-season record in all of Major League Baseball, an achievement for which Johnson was named National League Manager of the Year.

The 69-year-old Johnson hadn’t run a team in more than a decade when he was tapped to take over the Nationals from Jim Riggleman. But from opening day of the 2012 season, Johnson’s confidence that the Nationals were headed for bigger things never seemed to falter. Their longest losing streak was five games, but there were no prolonged slumps when it seemed the season was going to hell.

Yes, the postseason ended in heartbreak, but Johnson will have next season to build upon the 98-win season the Nationals enjoyed in 2011. Next season will be Johnson’s last as team manager, he and the Nationals agreed in a contract signed last weekend.

Perhaps Johnson’s greatest achievement in 2012 was leading a team that featured many personnel variables—one of the biggest stars was a 19-year-old rookie; a star pitcher was yanked from the rotation in mid-September. ““That’s the title of my job: Giving them an opportunity to succeed,” Johnson told The Washington Post.

Last month, Johnson won another manager-of-the-year award presented by The Sporting News. This prize is awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America.