Angels' Ron Washington Quit Smoking, Made Drastic Life Changes Following Heart Surgery

Angels manager Ron Washington (37, right) talks to former MLB manager Bobby Valentine before the game against the Houston Astros at Angel Stadium on June 21. | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Angels manager Ron Washington has been on medical leave since June. Speaking to reporters in detail about his health concerns for the first time, Washington said Monday in Texas that he underwent quadruple-bypass heart surgery eight weeks ago. 

In the aftermath, the 73-year-old manager made a slew of lifestyle changes he hopes will improve his long-term health outlook.

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“My eating habits have changed,” Washington said. “I no longer smoke. I’m telling you, people have been after me for years about that, and it took a bypass for me to stop smoking. But I’m through smoking. I’ve changed my eating habits. I’m sleeping better, and I’m stress-free. I just feel stress-free. I mean, that’s simply because I’m not making decisions right now.”

The idea of managing the Angels — or any major league team, for that matter — and reducing stress would seem to be at odds with one another. Whether or not Washington is up to the task of navigating the Angels through another 162-game season is not a decision that must be made today.

Still, he sounded optimistic about being able to return to his job next season.

"If Perry (Minasian, the Angels' general manager) will have me back, I'm certainly willing to come back and finish what we started," Washington said, via Erica Weston of FanDuel Sports Network West.

The Angels hold a one-year option on Washington's contract for 2026.

The team was 36-38 on June 20 when Washington took an indefinite leave to address his health. The Angels announced a week later that Washington would miss the remainder of the 2025 season.

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After several years coaching in the minors, Washington got his first major league job with the Oakland Athletics as a first base coach from 1996-06. He got his first managerial job with the Texas Rangers in 2007, and brought them to two World Series before he resigned in 2014.

Washington returned to the A's in 2015 as an infield coach, then moved to be their third base coach in the same season. Washington left Oakland once more after 2016 to join the Atlanta Braves as a third base coach, where he won his first World Series in 2021.

The Angels hired Washington to replace Phil Nevin after the 2023 season. They went 63-99 in his first season, the worst record in franchise history.

For more Angels news, head over to Angels on SI.