National Boss Miguel Cairo Signs Ball Heading for Baseball Hall of Fame

Washington Nationals manager Miguel Cairo and his New York Mets counterpart Carlos Mendoza have a piece of memorabilia heading for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Washington Nationals interim manager Miguel Cairo (22) looks on against the San Francisco Giants during the seventh inning at Oracle Park. | Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

Whether Washington Nationals interim manager Miguel Cairo gets the full-time job or not, a part of his time with the franchise will be in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Earlier this week, the Nationals faced the New York Mets, and it was a landmark day from a managerial perspective. It marked the first time that two Venezuelan-born managers faced each other in the same game.

Cairo took over as interim manager after Washington fired manager Dave Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo on July 6. New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, who was born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, became manager of the Mets in 2024. Before that, he was a coach with the Yankees from 2018-23 before he took over the Mets job.

Cairo and Mendoza Head to the Hall

The first matchup between Venezuelan-born managers in AL/NL history will be documented in Cooperstown.

Carlos Mendoza and Miguel Cairo both signed the first pitch ball from Tuesday's @Mets-@Nationals game. pic.twitter.com/Z7y6n6K4Dv

— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) August 20, 2025

To commemorate the meeting, both Cairo and Mendoza signed a baseball and it will be sent and displayed at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Nationals Communication, the social media feed for the franchise’s communication department, posted a photo of the baseball before it was sent to Cooperstown.

Miguel Cairo’s History in Baseball

Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

Cairo was born in Anaco, Anzoátegui, Venezuela, and signed as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers in September of 1990. He spent five years in the Dodgers’ organization before he was traded to the Seattle Mariners in November of 1995 and then he was traded less than a month later to the Toronto Blue Jays.

He made his MLB debut as a player with the Blue Jays in 1996, and he spent the 17 seasons playing for nine different teams. He played in 1,490 games and he slashed .264/.314/.361 with 41 home runs and 394 RBI.

After his playing career ended in 2012, he spent several seasons as a special assistant with the St. Louis Cardinals and as a minor-league coach with the New York Yankees. He joined the Chicago White Sox coaching staff for the 2021 season and, due to personal reasons that pulled manager Tony LaRussa away, Cairo managed the team’s appearance in the Field of Dreams game in Dyersville, Iowa.

He later became the acting manager of the White Sox in 2022 when LaRussa underwent medical testing, and he went 18-16. After that season, he joined the Mets as a minor league field coordinator for the 2023 season and then joined the Nationals’ staff as bench coach under Dave Martinez.