Ron Washington

Last updated

8+1⁄3 innings with a pinch-hit single. [1]

Washington is one of only three MLB players, along with U L Washington (no relation) and Frank White, who were products of the Royals Academy. [2]

Career as manager and coach

Following his retirement as a player, Washington worked in the New York Mets organization for five years. After being hired as the Oakland Athletics first base coach in 1996 under his former Astros manager Art Howe, Washington then served as infield and third base coach for the A's between 1997 and 2006. As infield coach Washington has been credited for developing much of the A's young infield talent in the last decade, including six-time Gold Glover Eric Chavez, and former MVP and A's shortstop Miguel Tejada. In 2004, Chavez expressed his appreciation by giving Washington one of his Gold Glove trophies, signed "Wash, not without you." However, the trophy was lost during Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. [3]

Washington is portrayed in the book Moneyball that relates how the A's competed having a small budget. Washington is shown in a positive light for the way he trained Scott Hatteberg to field first base for the first time in his career despite initial skepticism, but also as too old-fashioned and traditional in his lack of acceptance of general manager Billy Beane's sabermetric strategies. His character in the film adaptation of the book was played by actor Brent Jennings.

Manager of the Texas Rangers

On November 6, 2006, the Texas Rangers announced that Washington had accepted their offer to manage the team [4] replacing Buck Showalter, who was fired a month earlier. Washington beat out four other candidates for the job: Rangers bench coach Don Wakamatsu, then New York Mets third base coach Manny Acta, Nippon Ham Fighters manager Trey Hillman [5] and former Rangers catcher John Russell. [6]

Ron Washington in 2007 RonWashingtonDugout crop.jpg
Ron Washington in 2007

At the beginning of the 2007 season, it was rumored that there was a rift between Washington and Rangers star Mark Teixeira. Asked about it, Washington responded that he wanted Teixeira and other players to take more pitches, especially when facing middle relievers. [7]

Teixeira was traded to the Atlanta Braves in July 2007 and had been rumored to have been on the trading block before reports of tensions with Washington, as his agent, Scott Boras, had refused to negotiate a contract extension beyond the 2008 season. Reports also suggested tensions between Washington and catcher Gerald Laird. Questioned about the rumors, Washington conceded that the pressure he put on Laird was "a lot to put on a young kid ... (But) that's what we've got. He's got to grow up fast." [7]

On March 17, 2010, Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated reported that Washington tested positive for cocaine during the 2009 season and has acknowledged using cocaine. [8]

In 2010, Washington became the second manager of the Rangers franchise (after Johnny Oates) to take his team to the postseason. On October 12, 2010, Washington became the first manager in franchise history to win a playoff series, with a 3–2 victory in the ALDS over the Tampa Bay Rays. On October 22, 2010, Washington's Rangers defeated the New York Yankees in the ALCS in six games, to advance to their first World Series in franchise history, before losing to the San Francisco Giants in five games. He also became the third African American to manage a team into a World Series, joining Cito Gaston, who managed the Toronto Blue Jays to the World Championship in the 1992 and 1993 World Series, and Dusty Baker, who managed the Giants in the 2002 World Series.

Referring to Washington, second baseman Ian Kinsler said: "I just love the way he never holds his emotion back, especially when he's managing. He hangs on every pitch, and it's great to know that your manager is in every single pitch and cares that much." [9] In 2009 his salary was about $750,000. [10] On November 4, 2010, Washington agreed to a two-year contract extension.

Washington talks to fans in Houston in August 2014 Ron Washington at Minute Maid Park in August 2014.jpg
Washington talks to fans in Houston in August 2014

On October 15, 2011, Washington managed the Rangers to their second World Series in as many years, when the Rangers defeated the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS. The Rangers eventually lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in 7 games, after twice being one strike away from the title in game 6. On January 30, 2012, Washington agreed to another two-year contract extension. That year, he led the Rangers to a five-game lead in the race for the AL West title over the Oakland Athletics on September 24, but lost seven of the last nine games and the team was relegated to the inaugural AL Wild Card Game, which they lost 5–1 to the Baltimore Orioles.

On September 2, 2012, Washington earned his 507th win as a manager of the Texas Rangers, passing Johnny Oates for the second-most wins by a Rangers manager. On August 4, 2013, Washington passed Bobby Valentine for the most wins as a Rangers manager, at 582.

Following the conclusion of the 2014 season, Washington traveled to Japan to manage a team of MLB All-Stars playing against All-Stars of Nippon Professional Baseball in the 2014 Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series. [11]

On September 5, 2014, Washington announced his resignation as manager of the Rangers, citing personal reasons. [12] On September 11, 2014, it was announced by several media outlets that Ron Washington's resignation may be related to allegations of sexual assault against a reporter. [13] On September 18, 2014, Washington announced that he had been having an extramarital affair, and that he had resigned to reconcile with his family. [12] Washington's managerial record with the Rangers was 664–611 (.521), including four consecutive 90-win seasons (2010–13), and two pennants. However, his 2014 squad was only 53–87 (.379).

Return to coaching

Washington as the third base coach for the Braves Ron Washington from the Washington Nationals vs. Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park, April 7th, 2021 (All-Pro Reels Photography) (51106563660) (cropped).jpg
Washington as the third base coach for the Braves

Washington was hired as an infield coach by the Oakland Athletics on May 21, 2015. [14] He became the A's third base coach on August 24, 2015. [15]

In October 2016, Washington was a finalist for the Atlanta Braves managerial vacancy. The Braves opted to promote interim manager Brian Snitker instead, and then announced the hiring of Washington as their new third base coach, replacing Bo Porter. [16] Washington won his first World Series championship on November 2, 2021, as third-base coach for the Atlanta Braves. [17] Washington remained the Braves' third-base coach through the 2023 season. [18]

Manager of the Los Angeles Angels

After November 8 2023, the Los Angeles Angels hired Washington as their manager. [19] [20]

Managerial record

As of April 15, 2024

Ron Washington
Ron Washington on August 14, 2015 (cropped).jpg
Washington coaching the Oakland Athletics in 2015
Los Angeles Angels – No. 37
Infielder / Manager / Coach
Born: (1952-04-29) April 29, 1952 (age 71)
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 10, 1977, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Last MLB appearance
July 7, 1989, for the Houston Astros
TeamYearRegular seasonPostseason
GamesWonLostWin %FinishWonLostWin %Result
TEX 2007 1627587.4634th in AL West–––
TEX 2008 1627983.4882nd in AL West–––
TEX 2009 1628775.5372nd in AL West–––
TEX 2010 1629072.5561st in AL West88.500Lost World Series (SF)
TEX 2011 1629666.5931st in AL West107.588Lost World Series (STL)
TEX 2012 1629369.5742nd in AL West01.000Lost ALWC (BAL)
TEX 2013 1639172.5582nd in AL West–––
TEX 2014 1405387.379Resigned–––
TEX Total1,275664611.5211816.529
LAA 2024 1688.500TBD in AL West–––
LAA Total1688.500–––
Total1,291672619.5211816.529

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References

  1. ↑ "May 28, 1988 Milwaukee Brewers at Cleveland Indians Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved July 25, 2010.
  2. ↑ Mellinger, Sam. "Forty years later, Royals Academy lives on in memories," The Kansas City (MO) Star, Saturday, August 2, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Chavez says thanks to Washington - Oakland Tribune - Find Articles at BNET". Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. Retrieved June 1, 2016.. Findarticles.com (April 8, 2004). Retrieved on January 18, 2009.
  4. ↑ Rangers select Washington to manage | texasrangers.com: News [ permanent dead link ]. Texas.rangers.mlb.com (February 17, 2007). Retrieved on January 18, 2009.
  5. ↑ Rangers' job narrowed down to four | texasrangers.com: News Archived October 22, 2006, at the Wayback Machine . Texas.rangers.mlb.com. Retrieved on January 18, 2009.
  6. ↑ Russell added to list of candidates | texasrangers.com: News Archived October 22, 2006, at the Wayback Machine . Texas.rangers.mlb.com (June 6, 1990). Retrieved on January 18, 2009.
  7. 1 2 "Rangers players, manager need to get in sync". Msn.foxsports.com. September 16, 2010. Archived from the original on July 10, 2007. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Rangers manager Ron Washington tested positive for cocaine last July". CNN. March 17, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Washington back in Bay Area managing World Series". Sports Illustrated. October 27, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  10. ↑ Grant, Evan (June 8, 2009). "Rangers To Pick Up Option On Manager Ron Washington's Contract". Inside Corner. Archived from the original on October 29, 2011. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
  11. ↑ Casella, Paul (August 21, 2014). "MLB stars commit to 'All-Star Series' in Japan". MLB.com .
  12. 1 2 Barshop, Sarah (September 18, 2014). "Ex-Rangers manager Washington resigned after cheating on wife". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  13. ↑ Gorman, Ryan. "Report: Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington resigned over sexual assault allegations" AOL.com (September 11, 2014).
  14. ↑ Koo, Jeremy F. (May 21, 2015). "Oakland A's hire Ron Washington as major league coach" . Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Ron Washington returns to field full-time as A's third-base coach". August 24, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  16. ↑ Bowman, Mark (October 11, 2016). "Washington, Hernandez join Braves' coaching staff". MLB.com. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  17. ↑ Aguilera, Nick (November 3, 2021). "Fit for a ring: Beloved 'Wash' a champ at last". MLB.com.
  18. ↑ Bristol, Jason (October 31, 2023). "Braves' third-base coach Ron Washington interested in Astros manager job, KHOU 11 has learned". KHOU. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  19. ↑ Passan, Jeff (November 7, 2023). "Angels hire Ron Washington as manager". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  20. ↑ Bollinger, Rhett (November 8, 2023). "Angels hire Ron Washington as manager". MLB.com. Retrieved November 8, 2023.

Further reading

Sporting positions
Preceded by Oakland Athletics third base coach
1996–2006
2015–2016		Succeeded by
Preceded by Texas Rangers manager
2007–2014		Succeeded by
Preceded by Atlanta Braves third base coach
2017–2023		Succeeded by
TBD
Preceded by Los Angeles Angels manager
2023-present		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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