Angels hire Braves base coach Washington as manager

*Photo from Battery Power*

   The next man is coming up in Anaheim. The Los Angeles Angels have hired Atlanta Braves 3rd base coach Ron Washington as their next manager, according to an announcement by the Angels on Wednesday.

   Washington, currently 71 years old, signed a two year contract with the team. He served as the 3rd base coach of the Braves from 2017 to 2023, winning the World Series in 2021. He has a connection with Angels GM Perry Minasian, who was an assistant GM for the Braves from 2017 to 2020.

   From 2007 to 2014, Washington managed the Texas Rangers, guiding them to a 664-611 record in the regular season, good for a .521 winning percentage. Washington led the Rangers to the World Series in 2010 and 2011, ultimately coming up short both times. He led them to 5 winning seasons, 4 seasons of at least 90 wins, and 3 playoff berths.

   Next season will be Washington's 54th in baseball. He started in 1970 when he was signed with the Kansas City Royals, having a 10 year run as a player before joining the coaching ranks, with the Rangers having been his only managerial position in his career.

   In 2017, Washington was a finalist for the Braves managerial role before the job ultimately went to Brian Snitker. It didn't take long for Snitker to add Washington to his staff as 3rd base coach, where he remained through the end of this past season.

   Atlanta president of baseball operations and GM Alex Anthopoulos said of Washington that "He's everything you could want, he deserves the opportunity. 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."

   The Angels had interviewed a plethora of candidates for manager after they declined the 2024 option on Phil Nevin's contract. Former New York Mets manager Buck Showalter was a finalist for the job, with the Angels also interviewing Torii Hunter, Benji Gil, Darin Erstad, and Ray Montgomery.

   Washington will have to assemble a coaching staff from the ground up at the major league level with the Angels. Hitting coach Marcus Thames, catching coach Drew Butera, and pitching coach Matt Wise all left for the Chicago White Sox so far this offseason, with more changes potentially coming.