Building a good team does not start with the players. Rather, it’s building a good front office that can make the difference. That’s why my first three hires as Nationals GM were Bob Boone, Jose Rijo and Barry Larkin, a diverse racial group and all three have high character, work ethic and family values. Not to mention world championships.

Boone, a four-time All-Star and seven-time Gold Glover at catcher, is respected by all the catchers and pitchers. He picks up little nuances most baseball people don’t see. He’s the reason Ryan Zimmerman is in Washington. A lot of baseball people were scared of Ryan’s mechanics, thinking he had a “bar” in his swing. Bob thought that, despite this, he still could bring his hands through the zone close to his body to hit the inside pitch. He also saw that Ryan could be a Gold Glove caliber third baseman. Before Bob told me I had to see him, Ryan was not on our radar.

Rijo was an All-Star pitcher and former World Series MVP. More importantly, he has tremendous people skills. In his native Dominican Republic, he’s treated there like he’s the President of the United States. It’s amazing how well he’s loved in that country. His connections there have helped us sign players and to sign players who hail from the Dominican. He gets along with people of all races and brings everyone together. In an age of a global baseball market, that’s important.

Larkin was a 12-time All-Star shortstop and former NL MVP. As a player, he was an unselfish winner. He’s so important to the development of our young shortstops, like Esmailyn Gonzalez, Stephen King and Ian Desmond. His influence doesn’t end there. At the end of spring training, Ryan asked me if we could have Barry come to Washington often because of how much he helps him. Barry spent time with Ryan trying to develop him into a leader. Barry is always teaching players how to win. And he and Jose were the judges of the kangaroo court this spring; we had not had that since coming to Washington.

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I also gave Dana Brown a contract extension. He’s one of the best pitching evaluators in baseball and has tremendous conviction on his opinions. He goes on what he sees and doesn’t listen to others in making his judgments.

And we added Mike Rizzo as an assistant GM. As Arizona’s scouting director, he helped take a farm system that was ranked 29th in 2001 to No. 1 before he joined us. Enough said.

Details help organizations win — and that’s true in hiring as well. That’s why we brought in Chuck Lamar, the former Devil Rays GM, and Moose Stubing, who helped develop the Angels’ impressive core of players. And it’s why my executive assistant Haroly Cardozo, who once worked at the White House, is so important. The better the people you hire, the better the organization will be.

As told to The Examiner’s John Keim.

Nationals General Manager Jim Bowden provides an exclusive column to The Examiner each week, ranging on topics from the Nats to the state of Major League Baseball.