Nationals fire manager Matt Williams after 2 seasons

The Washington Nationals fired manager Matt Williams on Monday after a season in which the team badly underachieved and missing the playoffs.

Williams was National League Manager of the Year in his first season with the club in 2014 but his second season was a disaster. The Nationals were favorites to reach the World Series and struggled through an 83-79 season.

"This entire season was a disappointment," general manager Mike Rizzo said during a conference call. "It was not our best year. It wasn't Matt's best year. It wasn't my best year. As an organization, it wasn't our best year. All of us, together, feel the disappointment."

Washington's disappointing season included an embarrassing scene in the dugout when reliever Jonathan Papelbon attacked NL MVP candidate Bryce Harper in a late-season game.

"Not one single incident was the tipping point of making a decision with Matt Williams," Rizzo said. "Like I said during the season, (we were) going to take his whole body of work into consideration."

In his final day as Washington manager, Williams spoke as if he knew his managerial stint was ending.

"We had some things that went sideways and we had a whole bunch of injuries, and not much you can do about that except adjust and move on," Williams said.

Rizzo met with Williams on Monday in the manager's office to discuss the situation and break the news of his firing.

The general manager also said the process of finding a new manager would begin immediately.

"We're going to bring in a group of people with diverse backgrounds, diverse experiences and diverse skill sets. And I think that's something we did not do last time," Rizzo said. "Last time we brought in managing candidates with little or no managerial experience."

The Nationals also failed to renew the contracts of bench coach Randy Knorr, pitching coach Steve McCatty, hitting coach Rick Schu, third base coach Bobby Henley, first base coach Tony Tarasco, bullpen coach Matt LeCroy, and defensive coordinator Mark Weidemaier.

Knorr was a candidate when Williams was hired as Nationals manager. He will again draw consideration, according to Rizzo.

Williams had one year left on his contract. This was his first job as a manager.

Williams won 96 games in 2014 in his first season as manager. The Nationals lost in the NL Division Series to the eventual World Series champion San Francisco Giants.

A five-time All-Star as a player, Williams hit 378 career homers with the San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians and Arizona Diamondbacks.