Chris Speier looking for ring at Dusty Baker's side

New Nationals bench coach Chris Speier's long career in the majors nearly began in Washington when the Senators drafted him out of high school in 1968. But Speier opted for college and became the second overall pick by the Giants two years later.

Speier played 19 years, mostly as a shortstop, for the Giants, Expos, Cardinals, Twins and Cubs, and made three All-Star teams. After retiring in 1989, Speier jumped into coaching with the Giants and Cubs before becoming a minor league manager in the Diamondbacks organization. He eventually was promoted to third base coach in Arizona, where he won a World Series in 2001.

Speier first hooked up with new Nationals skipper Dusty Baker in 2005 when Baker was managing the Cubs. Speier served for two seasons as third base coach in Chicago and then shifted with Baker to Cincinnati in 2007 as bench coach. He was fired along with Baker following a wild card playoff loss in 2013.

"Really excited to be back in," Speier said during Winterfest. "You know, I was out for almost two years. I missed it. I missed it a lot. When I get that phone call (from Baker), I said, 'Let's go do this thing.' There's a piece of business that's been incomplete and that's the World Series. What a great opportunity with a great team."

Baker won a World Series as a player with the Dodgers in 1981, but has yet to capture a ring as a manager despite taking three different teams to the postseason. Speier wants to change that.

"That's a big, big goal for me - for him to finally get that to put that on his legacy," Speier said.

Speier's fondness for Baker is obvious and the two men clearly have a strong relationship.

"Away from the baseball side, he's probably one of the greatest human beings I've ever met," Speier said of Baker. "He's the most giving man that I've been around in a long, long time."

Speier says Baker's genuine personality is why guys enjoy playing for him so much. It is why, Speier believes, Baker has managed some of the game's larger-than-life superstars, like Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa, with so much success.

"Dusty's whole thing is, 'Be honest with me. If you ever need anything, come to me,' " Speier said. "His big thing is, 'Let's keep things as quiet as we possibly can and not go to you guys.' He treats men as men and he trusts them. They know that he can be trusted."

It's a comfortable working dynamic in the dugout for Baker and Speier with plenty of communication.

"I got a sense with Dusty," Speier said. "My tendency is to be a little aggressive. He's kind of more of the stabling factor. He'll look at me and go, 'Great idea, but not right now.' Those types of things. There's a great mix there. I'll throw out certain situations that me if I'm managing I might try to do. But again, he's got the final word."