Ex-Rangers Manager Ron Washington Named Los Angeles Angels New Manager

The Los Angeles Angels have tapped longtime baseball figure Ron Washington to turn around a decade of losing.

The Associated Press reports Washington, 71, will become Major League Baseball’s (MLB) oldest current manager and the second Black manager after Houston Astros Manager Dusty Baker, who announced his retirement following the team’s ALCS loss to the Texas Rangers, where Washington served as bench coach.

Washington has been in baseball for more than four decades. He played second base and shortstop for five teams between 1977 and 1989. before serving as a manager and coach for numerous teams, including the New York Mets and Oakland Athletics.

Washington managed the Texas Rangers from 2007 to 2014, leading the team to the World Series in 2010 and 2011. He also coached the Oakland Athletics in 2015 and served as the third base coach of the Atlanta Braves from 2016 to 2023, winning a World Series in 2021.

“I’m lost for words, but the work it will take,” Washington told the Associated Press.

Washington replaces Phil Nevin, who the Angels declined to re-sign after one-and-a-half losing seasons. Despite having two of the league’s top five players in outfielder Mike Trout and pitcher and outfielder. Shohei Ohtani for the last six years. Then Angels have had eight consecutive losing seasons and have missed the playoffs in nine straight seasons. Both streaks are currently the longest in baseball.

Washington, one of the most respected figures in baseball today, will be the Angels fourth manager in the last six seasons after Mike Scioscia, who managed the team for 19 years before leaving after the 2018 season.

Despite Washington’s stellar record, he has been involved in several controversies. He tested positive for cocaine in 2009 while he was managing the Rangers. He offered to resign, but the Rangers decided to keep him. Five years later, he abruptly resigned as manager of the Rangers; several weeks later acknowledged he was having an extramarital affair.