Ron Washington makes wild admission about advice he got before taking Angels job

LA's reputation seems to be preceding them when it comes hiring, and that is decidedly not great.

Eric Cole

Los Angeles Angels v San Francisco Giants / Lachlan Cunningham/GettyImages

Say what you want to about Los Angeles Angels manager Ron Washington, but he has definitely made his mark on this team. From preaching accountability in group blast sessions to his blunt assessments to the media about what his team is doing right and wrong, Washington is a walking quote machine and also among the most thorough coaches in the sport of baseball when it comes to fundamentals.

As a result, it was certainly not a surprise to anyone that Washington provided much of the same when he was interviewed by USA Today about his tenure with the Angels and the events that led to him taking the job. Washington talked about how he knows the team has struggled, but that he is a fervent believer in his approach and sees better days ahead.

However, another fun little nugget was that Washington was told not to take the job with the Angels by unknown sources, but he did anyway.

Apparently the Angels' reputation is costing them when it comes to hiring personnel

In the interview, Washington was quoted as saying, "“People kept saying how bad the Angels are, and why would you want to go there? Come on, it’s a big-league job. There are only 30 of these [expletives]. I waited 10 damn years to get back." While not the most ringing endorsement of the Angels as a franchise, it was clear that Washington desperately wanted to manage again and knew that such opportunities are precious when they come along.

Still, it is a really bad look that the Angels' reputation around the league is so bad that there were people in Washington's ear wondering why he would consider their offer. Unfortunately, it also isn't surprising, as owner Arte Moreno has a well-earned reputation for skimping on amenities that he deems unnecessary, and the team has a reputation for experiencing a lot of turnover and not exactly being set up for future.

Luckily, none of that stopped Washington, and by all accounts his players love him and appreciate what he is doing to get the Angels back to relevancy.

However, one cannot help but wonder why other candidates (from prospective free agents to front office personnel) may not have been so eager to take on the challenge and looked elsewhere for employment because of it.

More LA Angels News from Halo Hangout

Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.