Angels Manager Ron Washington Thought He Died During Recent Hospital Stay

Angels manager Ron Washington (37) watches from the dugout against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning at Fenway Park on June 4. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

Angels manager Ron Washington has been on medical leave since June. While the public updates from Washington and general manager Perry Minasian have been largely hopeful ever since, the 73-year-old was privately worried he would lose his life.

Ron Washington explains the timeline of his health situation. He had bypass surgery. pic.twitter.com/GGkn8GJe8l

— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) August 25, 2025

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. While in the hospital, he believed he had died at one point.

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"There was one night when Washington awoke in his hospital bed, and thought he had died," Sam Blum wrote in The Athletic. "There were wires and IVs attached to his body, and he started to yank them out. A doctor came rushing in, confused, and asked what he was doing. He asked if he was alive or dead, genuinely uncertain of the answer in that moment. He was alive, the doctor told him, in a story that he can now smile about."

In the same press conference Monday, Washington expressed optimism that he will return to the bench in 2026.

"If Perry 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.

“If Perry will have me back, I’m certainly willing to come back and finish what we started.”

— Erica Weston (@EricaLWeston) August 25, 2025

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.

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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.

In Washington's second year as manager, the Angels were off to a 36-38 start when bench coach Ray Montgomery took over for Washington on June 20. The Angels announced a week later that Washington would miss the remainder of the 2025 season.

The Angels are 26-32 under Montgomery since Washington left the team. The Angels have a team option on Washington's contract for 2026. Already the oldest manager in MLB, Washington will turn 74 in April 2026.

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