Ron Washington states case to return as Angels manager, inadvertently calls out Arte

A tale that is as old as time in professional sports? A player getting their career ripped away from them. Whether it's due to lack of productivity, potential, injury, etc., one's career is usually out of their control and ends more abruptly than they think it will. The 73-year-old Ron Washington is experiencing this reality as a coach, as his quadruple bypass heart surgery has potentially ended his managerial career. He has traveled with the Angels here and there post All-Star break, but has reverted to almost beginning the team to consider picking up his team option for 2026.

Ron Washington states case to return as Angels manager, inadvertently calls out Arte

“I was hoping I’d get to see (Angels owner Arte Moreno) this homestead, but he hasn’t made it here yet to the game,” Washington told Sam Blum of The Athletic. “I just want to sit down and talk baseball with him. I’ll let them decide if I’m the guy to lead the club.”

It's so funny that Washington just stopped caring about his quotes potentially being misconstrued by the press. He basically said "I want to talk about the future of the organization with the owner face-to-face, but he can't be bothered to watch his team play their final games of the year. Oh well!" Now, he did not mean to insult Moreno but that quote is just so funny. Angels fans already know that Moreno rules with an iron fist despite not knowing anything about what's actually happening, and Wash confirming that he's not even in Anaheim as the Angels finish the season just backs up that notion.

Another potentially big note from Blum's piece was that Washington will refuse a special assistant to the general manager-type role that many in his ilk take. That kind of role is as cushy a job in baseball as there is, but Wash is addicted to the grind of managing and spending time in dugouts. He is quoted as to saying "I’m a hands-on guy. And that’s not gonna stop. I’m the one that’s gonna decide when I’m not hands-on."

Wash will be competing with former players like Torii Hunter and Albert Pujols, plus Ray Montgomery to a lesser extent, for the Angels next manager. Washington will definitely tell Moreno that the team was playing well with him this year, then went in the tank soon after he departed in late-June. Decisions will likely be made in short-order once the season ends today, so stay tuned for further updates on Wash, Perry Minasian, Ray Montgomery, the coaching staff and the front office.

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