By Sam Blum, Brittany Ghiroli and David O’Brien
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Los Angeles Angels have hired Ron Washington as their manager, the team announced Wednesday afternoon. The team interviewed Washington on Tuesday night in Arizona and the process moved quickly from there.
It is a two-year contract that runs until 2025. The terms of the contract were not disclosed.
Buck Showalter was among the small group of finalists for the position. At the end of the process, the Angels only considered people who had previous experience as MLB managers.
Washington, 71, has long hoped for another leadership opportunity. He resigned from the Texas Rangers in 2014 for personal reasons. He led Texas to back-to-back World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011.
Washington spent the last seven years as the Braves’ third base coach and was a popular figure in Atlanta. After leaving Texas, he also coached the Oakland Athletics.
Angels general manager Perry Minasian has extensive experience working with Washington. Minasian was in the Braves’ front office during the 2020 season. He was also a scout for the Rangers during part of Washington’s tenure at Texas.
Washington is the Angels’ fifth manager since 2018, as owner Arte Moreno has changed positions several times after unsuccessful tenures. Moreno had the ultimate say in this hiring.
Angels manager since Mike Scioscia
| Manager | Years | Record |
|---|---|---|
Brad Ausmus | 2019 | 72-90 |
Joe Maddon | 2020-22 | 157-172 |
Phil Nevin | 2022-23 | 119-149 |
It’s not clear how many candidates interviewed with the Angels. Multiple candidates were reportedly in the mix at various points, including former players like Torii Hunter, Darin Erstad and Benji Gil. Gil, who spent the last two years on the team’s coaching staff, was not interviewed, league sources said.
Washington will try to turn around a struggling franchise that needs a strong voice and leadership. Minasian said Tuesday he hopes to hire a candidate who can take the job seriously. Washington’s status in the game suggests he can do just that.
The short-term nature of the deal likely reflects Washington’s age. Minasian’s status, being in the final year of his contract, could also play a role.
What this means for the Braves
It’s hard to overstate the impact Washington has had on the Braves in his seven years, with a team that has won six consecutive National League East titles and the 2021 World Series.
“I will look back on this time in my career and feel honored to have had the opportunity to work with him,” said Braves President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Alex Anthopoulos. “He is everything you could ask for. He deserves the opportunity. He is excited. Of course I’m happy for him. It’s a big loss for us. And I emphasize that everything is written in capital letters, bold and italics. A huge, huge void.”
Beyond his work as a third base coach and infield instructor, “Wash” was a never-ending source of old-fashioned knowledge, which he himself put to excellent use in new school systems and analysis. He was a master of the fungo bat, which Washington used in his patented one-on-one pregame drills with infielders – they were voluntary, but every Braves infielder did them every day, so dedicated were they to the coach, who showed them so much commitment.
These sessions were accompanied by the soundtrack of Wash’s voice, expletive-laced torrents of wisdom and advice, always honest, sometimes brutal, and a positive attitude that players said made them better fielders and better teammates.
He had almost reached the summit as a manager, taking the Rangers to back-to-back World Series, but after returning to his old job as infield coach, he took it on tirelessly every day, driven to make each player better make. Rangers, Athletics and Braves players credited Washington with being the biggest part of making them Gold Glove winners, and some even presented him with the first Gold Glove they won.
He also made it a point for many years to print out positive messages, one affirmation per day, and place them in every Braves player’s locker. — David O’Brien, Braves senior writer
Required reading
(Photo: Elsa/Getty Images)