WASHINGTON – Blake Butera sat at the dais in the press conference room at Nationals Park on Monday, looking out at the first two rows of seats filled by family. His relatives were there, his wife’s relatives were there, and -- snuggled up in a tiny Nationals jersey -- so was his newborn daughter.

On the day Butera became a Major League manager , he stepped into an even bigger role: a father.

“I got offered the job before [her birth], signed the contract after,” Butera recalled of the hectic order of events. “So, dad first.”

Butera and his wife, Caroline Margolis, welcomed Blair Margaux Butera on Oct. 30. Mere weeks later, with an assist from his in-laws, the family traveled from Raleigh, N.C., to Washington, D.C., for Butera to be introduced as the manager of the Nationals.

“I can't

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