Angels hire Ron Washington as manager on 2-year deal
The Los Angeles Angels hired Ron Washington as their next manager, the team announced Wednesday.
OFFICIAL: the Angels have hired Ron Washington as the Club’s manager. pic.twitter.com/NGWV6X10PW
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) November 8, 2023
Washington signed a two-year contract, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. The club will introduce him at a press conference next week.
The 71-year-old hasn't managed since resigning as skipper of the Texas Rangers in September 2014 due to a personal issue. He owns a 664-611 record (.521) in eight seasons as manager, all with Texas.
During his time with the Rangers, Washington oversaw the most successful period in the franchise's history prior to this year. He guided Texas to five winning seasons, four 90-win campaigns, and three postseason berths, as well as their first-ever playoff series wins and AL pennants in 2010 and '11.
Washington spent the past seven seasons as the Atlanta Braves' third base coach. He was a finalist for the Braves' managerial job in 2017 that went to Brian Snitker, who quickly hired him to his staff.
"He's everything you could want, he deserves the opportunity," Braves president of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos told ESPN's Jeff Passan. "He's excited. Obviously I'm excited for him. It's a huge loss for us. I emphasize that in caps, bold, italicized, all of it. Huge void. But I had six years with him, and I can't imagine I'll be around a guy like that in my entire career."
A baseball lifer, the 2024 season will mark Washington's 54th year in professional baseball. Originally signed by the Kansas City Royals in 1970, he played parts of 10 seasons in the majors with five teams and had a 13-year run on the Oakland Athletics' coaching staff.
Washington will likely have his work cut out for him in Anaheim, where the Angels appear to be on the verge of entering a rebuild. The Halos haven't made the playoffs since 2014 and haven't posted a winning record since 2015. While he'll manage one superstar in Mike Trout, the Angels' other all-world star, Shohei Ohtani, appears poised to leave in free agency.
Washington is Los Angeles' fourth manager in the last seven years, following an 18-year run of stability under Mike Scioscia. Since Scioscia retired, the Halos have cycled through Brad Ausmus (2019), Joe Maddon (2020-22), and Phil Nevin, who the Angels fired in October after consecutive losing seasons.
Washington beat out another veteran skipper in Buck Showalter for the Angels job, according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com. Other candidates for the position included former Angels players Gary DiSarcina and Benji Gil, as well as the team's current bench coach Ray Montgomery, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Tuesday.