A half field sits beside the parking lot at the Angels’ spring training complex in Tempe, Ariz. In the previous three years when the Angels had their camp based in this part of the complex, the field was mostly vacant.
Not this year.
“I pull up to the clubhouse and he’s out there hitting fungoes at 6:45 in the morning,” center fielder Mike Trout said. “There hasn’t been a day that I’ve pulled up that he’s not out there.”
Trout was referring to Ron Washington, the Angels’ new manager and something of a workaholic. Although Washington is 71, he has not taken to this job with any less verve than when he was a manager 10 years ago or a coach 20 years ago.
“He’s got lots of energy,” outfielder Taylor Ward said. “And with all the young guys we have, he’s getting us all wound up.”
You wouldn’t expect Washington to have any less energy, because he’s been riding the adrenaline of a second chance that he desperately wanted.
“There’s nothing like leading,” Washington said. “There’s nothing like leading a major league baseball club. I’ve got that rush. But I don’t feel no stress.”
When the Angels open the 2024 season in Baltimore on Thursday, Washington will be filling out his first lineup card as a big league manager since 2014. He led the Texas Rangers through eight seasons, enjoying the peaks of back-to-back American League pennants. The valleys included a positive test for cocaine and his eventual resignation, which included Washington’s admission that he’d been unfaithful to his wife. No other reason was given. He was hired the next year by the Oakland A’s to be their third base coach.
Washington had two other interviews for managerial jobs, with the Atlanta Braves in 2016 and the San Diego Padres in 2019.
Although the Braves hired Brian Snitker instead, they thought enough of Washington to make him the third base coach. He’d held that job ever since, and had a three-year deal still ahead of him when the Angels called.
“I never thought (managing) might not come again, but you do have that little man on the right shoulder and a little man on the left shoulder going against each other,” Washington said. “I came to the reality with the fact and this is the way I dealt with it. I said, if it doesn’t happen, I’m in a good place. It wasn’t all or nothing. But I certainly wanted to do it again.”
Since the Angels gave Washington that chance, he has vowed that he will not change from what worked when he was with the Rangers a decade ago.
“I am who I am,” Washington said. “I’ve always went about my baseball business the same, whether I was leading as the head leader or a coach.”
The players say the mood from Washington filters into the clubhouse, although they are quick to point out that the confidence never wavered under previous managers.
“I don’t think the vibe of our clubhouse has changed,” left-hander Patrick Sandoval said. “We want to win. We’ve always wanted to win. It hasn’t worked out, but the will to win has never gone down at all. The optimism hasn’t gone down at all. I think we share the same enthusiasm as (Washington) has.”
His enthusiasm nonetheless is palpable.
“It creates an atmosphere of energy,” catcher Matt Thaiss said. “It’s just spring training games, but everyone has energy. Everyone is getting after it. It’s just a culture.”
Beyond the mood, Washington brings five decades of experience in the big leagues. Sandwiched around his time with the Rangers, he was on the staff of the A’s when they were perennial winners in the Moneyball era, and the Braves won the 2021 World Series with him on staff.
“I think he just brings a track record of winning baseball,” outfielder Mikey Moniak said. “He’s been a part of a lot of winning teams, playing and coaching. Obviously, as a manager he has gotten to the World Series twice and was one strike away (from winning the World Series in 2011).
“He knows what it takes to reach the goals we want to reach. We’re just kind of trying to take in everything and be sponges. Learn from him as much as possible and be able to apply it once we step across those lines.”
The way the Angels play between the lines will have Washington’s fingerprints.
Aggressive baserunning has been evident throughout spring training. Washington has pushed players to work on their bunting and situational hitting skills, including two suicide squeezes in the final week in Arizona.
Washington is expecting the defense, particularly the infield defense, to be improved. He and infield coach Ryan Goins drilled the infielders on fundamentals just about every morning – those 6:45 a.m. fungoes that Trout saw.
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The belief in improved defense is one of the reasons that the Angels are stressing to their pitchers not to worry about allowing the ball to be put in play. They have emphasized pounding the strike zone all spring.
It’s all a part of Washington’s plan to turn around a team that won just 73 games last year by doing all the little things that will add up to big things.
Washington said he’s grateful for the opportunity to do it again as a manager.
“It means a ton, because I get a chance to transform again,” Washington said. “That’s the best part, coming into a situation where you get to help guys believe, and I love that.”
UP NEXT
Angels (LHP Patrick Sandoval, 7-13, 4.11 ERA in 2023) at Orioles (RHP 10-8, 3.39), Camden Yards, Thursday, 12:05 p.m. PT, Bally Sports West, 830 AM
