It’s been a longtime coming for the former Braves third base coach Ron Washington, who was finally given another crack at being a manager, this time for the Los Angeles Angels. Washington had been passed over several times in recent years, and while he’ll be missed in Braves Country, nobody is more deserving of another opportunity.
But despite Washington’s desires to be a manager again, it wasn’t an easy decision for him to leave Atlanta. A primary reason for that is Alex Anthopoulos, who just received an eight year extension from the Braves, keeping him with the organization through at least the 2031 season.
“When it happened, I certainly called him, because Alex (Anthopoulos) is a great man,” Ron Washington said when asked about Anthopoulos’ extension with the Braves on Foul Territory. “He believes in taking care of all of his people, and he did. He took care of me the times I was there. And behind the scenes, a lot of people don’t know, I was definitely offered jobs to leave, but I told Alex when I got there, I’m not leaving Atlanta unless I got a managing job.”
"Alex is a great man, and he believes in taking care of all of his people"
Ron Washington discusses @Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos and why it was "hard to leaving Atlanta"
▶️ https://t.co/NEU4ma6KCL pic.twitter.com/FpxgKPjGpg
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) January 15, 2024
An underrated aspect of Alex Anthopoulos’ tenure as general manager of the Braves is his ability to relate to everybody throughout the organization. There’s not a single player or coach in Atlanta that doesn’t have respect for Anthopoulos and the way he operates things. That goes a long way at the negotiation table, not just among players that have been with the organization for years, but with free agents as well. The reputation of the Braves throughout the league is second to none, and it’s talked about by nearly every new face that joins the organization.
Still, there comes a time where everybody must move on, and Washington felt like this was the perfect opportunity for him to do so after seven seasons with the Braves.
“Opportunity for me to manage happened at the right time,” Washington said. “It was time for me to go. It was time for those guys to start understanding how to take care of one another, because I’m going to tell you it was myself and EY (Eric Young Sr.) and the rest of that coaching staff every day they hit that ballpark we was on top of them. They didn’t come in that clubhouse unless someone was on top of them. Now, with two of the most powerful guys they had in that clubhouse gone, now they going to have to definitely depend on the other coaches that’s left, and depend on the love, and the wisdom, the knowledge, everything that we left behind. It was hard leaving Atlanta, but I have this opportunity to be apart of something special moving forward with the Los Angeles Angels.”
Ron Washington is a national treasure that will be remembered fondly in Atlanta until the end of time. He was integral to the organization’s current run of incredible success, highlighted by six straight division titles and a World Series in 2021. Turning around the Angels is going to be no easy task, but if there’s anyone built for the challenge, it’s Wash. All of Braves Country will be rooting for him from afar.
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Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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