Ron Washington
Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame
Baseball Player/Coach
McDonogh HS/MLB
Inducted: 2006
Ron Washington seemingly has always taken the road less traveled.
Currently an assistant coach with the Atlanta Braves, Washington has seen a lot in the game of baseball since his days as a two-sport star (football) at John McDonogh High.
After attending Manatee Junior College in Florida, Washington was originally signed as a free agent catcher by the Kansas City Royals. Getting his professional start in the Royals’ Baseball Academy, Washington’s focus was on the fundamentals, a rooted foundation that would manifest itself later.
Washington played all or part of 10 seasons in the major leagues with Los Angeles, Minnesota, Baltimore, Cleveland and Houston. He hit .368 in 10 games with the Dodgers in 1977, but he did not return to the majors until four seasons later with Minnesota.
In his first full seasons in the majors with the Twins in 1982, Washington batted .271 with career highs in home runs. Washington hit a personal best .294 for Minnesota in 1984, before moving on to play with the Orioles, Indians, and Astros.
“There have just been so many people who have said stuff and done stuff that sticks with you,” Washington told the Dallas Morning News. “(There were) people who praised you, who were direct with you, but never in a mean way. People who treated you like a professional; people who told you what you had to do to get better and then pushed you.”
During his time in Baltimore, Washington became a footnote in history as he replaced Cal Ripken at shortstop in during a game in September, 1987, ending Ripken’s streak of 8,243 consecutive innings.
While a minor leaguer, Washington hit .278 for his career, and earned an all-star appearance as a catcher. He also ranked in the Top 10 in batting average in consecutive seasons.
In 1991, Washington moved into the coaching ranks with the New York Mets organization, and spent two seasons managing the club’s Class A affiliate in Columbia South Carolina.
After five seasons with New York, Washington got the call back to the majors, this time as a coach with the Oakland A’s. In 11 seasons in Oakland, Washington helped Oakland led the major’s in fielding in both 2004 and 2005, while helping the team rank third in the American League in fielding percentage (.985) in his final five seasons there. In addition, Washington is credited with the development of the A’s young infield talent during his time there. Among his pupils were six-time Gold Glove third baseman Eric Chavez and former American League MVP and current Baltimore shortstop Miguel Tejada. In 2004, Chavez expressed his appreciation by giving Washington one of his Gold Glove trophies signed, “Not without you, Wash.”
All the hard work on the road less traveled paid off for Washington who was hired as the manager of the Texas Rangers in 2007.
In 2010, Washington became the second manager of the Rangers franchise to take his team to the postseason. On October 12, 2010, Washington became the first manager in franchise history to win a playoff series, with a 3–2 victory in the ALDS over the Tampa Bay Rays. On October 22, 2010, Washington's Rangers defeated the New York Yankees in the ALCS in six games, to advance to their first World Series in franchise history, before losing to the San Francisco Giants in five games. He also became the third African American to manage a team into a World Series.
Referring to Washington, second baseman Ian Kinsler said: "I just love the way he never holds his emotion back, especially when he's managing. He hangs on every pitch, and it's great to know that your manager is in every single pitch and cares that much."
On October 15, 2011, Washington managed the Rangers to their second World Series in as many years, when the Rangers defeated the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS. The Rangers eventually lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games, after twice being one strike away from the title in game 6.
In 2012, Washington again directed the Rangers to the postseason as they advanced to the American League Wild Card Game, falling to the Orioles.
In 2013, Washington passed Bobby Valentine to become the winningest manager in Texas Rangers' history. When his tenure with the Rangers ended in 2014, he had 664 victories. Washington's managerial record with the Rangers was 664–611 (.521), including four consecutive 90-win seasons (2010–13), and two pennants.
After his time with the Rangers, Washington returned to assistant coaching, spending two season back with the A's and then joining the Atlanta Braves staff in 2017. Washington won his first World Series championship on November 2, 2021, as third-base coach for the Braves.
