\n \u201cI didn\u2019t respond until we got out of the hospital a couple days later and, with that, it was funny because almost half the messages were like \u2018Congrats on the job!\u2019 and then another text message a day later that was like, \u2018Oh wait, and you guys had a baby!\u2019\u201d Butera told CNN Sports<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n Actually, to be precise, both baby and job were finalized on the same day.\n <\/p>\n \n Before he even agreed to interview for one of the most exclusive jobs in the world, Butera needed to ask his wife: \u201cIs this something we can do right now?\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Butera, the then Tampa Bay Rays\u2019 senior director of player development, had wanted to be a major league manager someday, but he was happy in his role, happy with his organization and about to have his first baby.\n <\/p>\n \n His wife, Caroline Margolis, was adamant.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cShe\u2019s like, \u2018We\u2019ll figure it out, we always do,\u2019\u201d Butera said. \u201cShe\u2019s like, \u2018This is how the baseball world is. It\u2019s hard to prepare and plan for everything to go exactly how you want it to, or how you expect it to.\u2019\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI just know it\u2019s something he\u2019s always thought about and dreamt about,\u201d Margolis told CNN Sports. \u201cHe was really missing being back on the field.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n In baseball, teams have to grant permission for one of their employees to interview elsewhere. This meant that the Nats\u2019 new general manager, Paul Toboni, needed to speak with the Rays president of baseball operations, Erik Neander, before reaching out to Butera. Neander had told Toboni that Butera was expecting a baby imminently.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cSo when Paul reached out, he said, \u2018I\u2019m fully aware of what\u2019s going on. I have four kids myself. Before we start this process, I want you to know that your wife and your soon-to-be baby are first and foremost. And if we ever have to cut off communication, I completely understand. I don\u2019t want you to miss the birth of your first child. You need to be there for that, you need to be there for Caroline,\u2019\u201d Butera said.\n <\/p>\n \n That, and Toboni\u2019s willingness to come to Raleigh, where Butera and Margolis live, for the interview rather than requiring him to travel in the weeks near the end of her pregnancy, reassured them about the organization\u2019s priorities. They moved forward with the process.\n <\/p>\n \n October 26 was the baby\u2019s due date. The next day, a Monday, the Nationals offered Butera the job, kicking off the contract negotiations. On October 29, Butera and Margolis went to the hospital. They discussed the contract and watched the World Series<\/a> game on TV that night.\n <\/p>\n \n In the morning, October 30, Toboni called Butera to tell him that ESPN\u2019s Jeff Passan was about to break the news. Soon, everyone would know that he was the next Nats manager. His new boss advised Butera to turn off his phone and focus on his family.\n <\/p>\n \n But the TV was still on in the delivery room. The news of Butera\u2019s hiring aired just as his wife was about to deliver their baby.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cYou couldn\u2019t even make it up,\u201d he said. \u201cIt just feels like a story that\u2019s not real.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Later, after they\u2019d moved to the recovery room, Butera signed his contract making the hiring official.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cOnce we had settled our breath a little bit, I was like, \u2018Alright, we\u2019re doing this? You\u2019re ready for me to sign the contract?\u2019\u201d Butera said. \u201cSigned the contract together and said, \u2018Alright, well, we\u2019re now a new family, and we also have kind of a new chapter in our lives.\u2019\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cTo the extent that I remember it, that is how I remember it,\u201d Margolis laughed. \u201cI just remember her being in my arms.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The Nats waited two weeks to introduce their new manager so the equally new parents could have some time to settle in. The news conference was a full family affair. Baby Blair came, along with Margolis and her parents, and the Nats welcomed them with a custom jersey small enough to fit a two-week-old.\n <\/p>\n \n That wasn\u2019t even her first merch. The team had a care package waiting at the couple\u2019s home when they got back from the hospital \u2013 three gift bags all full of Washington Nationals baby clothes.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt was strictly for Blair. Like, the only one we care about here is Blair,\u201d Butera said. \u201cI think we\u2019re learning pretty early that Blair is the focus here.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Blair and Toboni\u2019s four boys were highlighted in a social media post<\/a> by the team as well.\n <\/p>\n![\"Blake](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/gettyimages-2247169750.jpg\")
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