Baker expects past conflicts to help him manage Nationals

From my military and Marines days, we handled it like men. We talked about it out in the open, so we don't let things fester.

Whether there was purpose behind it or not, Dusty Baker shared a pretty interesting anecdote during his introductory news conference Thursday. Asked about Bryce Harper, the newly named Nationals manager offered up a story about his own days as a brash, young big-leaguer and an important lesson he learned.

"I wasn't as good a player as Bryce Harper," Baker said. "But I came in the league, and my first year I hit third in the league. And I hit behind Hank Aaron. And I thought that I was the cat's meow at that time. And I got kind of jacked a couple times by the older…