Syracuse, N.Y. — Syracuse Chiefs shortstop Emmanuel Burriss has played for a lot of managers in a pro career that's spanned parts of six major league and 10 minor league seasons.

He doesn't pause for a second when deciding where Chiefs' manager Billy Gardner Jr. ranks among them.

"He's the best manager I've ever played for,'' said Burriss, who played for Gardner the past two seasons. "He knows exactly what he's doing. He stays the same guy, which is always calming attitude for the players in the locker room. When you've got a manager like that, you just want to play hard for him.''

Will that style earn Gardner a big-league job with the Nationals?

Could be.

Gardner will join Washington next week to help out with the team for the rest of the season. His 2016 fate, like that of the rest of the staff, won't be decided until the off-season.

But based on the Nationals' history during their seven-season affiliation with the Chiefs, Gardner might be on Washington's bench full-time in 2016.

Gardner is finishing up his second season with the Chiefs. Of Syracuse's previous four managers under the Nationals era, only one manager (Tony Beasley) ran the Chiefs for two seasons.

The first three (Tim Foli, Trent Jewett and Randy Knorr) each spent one season in Syracuse. The Nationals have a history of promoting their Triple-A bosses to positions up top, and Gardner's work in Syracuse certainly merits such consideration.

In 2014, his first season as a Triple-A skipper, Gardner took the Chiefs to the best record in the International League and earned manager of the year honors. The 2015 season presented just the opposite challenge. After Syracuse started the season 28-54 and looking at a dead-end summer, Gardner kept the team locked in enough to finish 38-24 for a .613 winning percentage.



"Just be consistent. That's what I do. I think that rubs off on the players,'' Gardner said.

"He's always the same,'' Burriss said. "That's why guys love him so much. You can ask all the guys. They all say he's the best manager we've played for.''



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