Dusty Baker. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Dusty Baker won’t return as the manager of The Nationals next season, the team announced on Friday.

“We have decided to make a change in leadership and begin the process of finding a new manager. This was an incredibly difficult decision for us. Dusty Baker led the team to the first back-to-back division titles in our history and represented our club with class on and off the field,” a letter from the owners says.

Baker’s contract expired at the end of this season, which continued the team’s streak of tragically losing in the first round of the playoffs.

A statement from the team says that it’s not just Baker packing his bags: “The contracts for the Major League coaching staff have also expired. The Nationals’ search for a new manager will begin immediately, and we will work with that person to building his coaching staff.”

Baker told USA Today he was “surprised and disappointed … I really thought this was my best year. We won at least 95 games each year and won the division back to back years but they said they wanted to go a different direction. It’s hard to understand.”

In both of Baker’s two years with the Nats, the team made it to the postseason but did not survive the National League Division Series. Before moving to Washington, he spent 20 years as a manager for other teams and 19 as a professional baseball player.

The Nationals have not yet had a manager that lasted more than two years. On the horizon, star outfielder Bryce Harper’s contract expires in 2018.

This post has been updated to clarify that Baker was the manager, not general manager of the team.