Angels Manager Wants to See Team Bunting More Moving Forward

Los Angeles Angels manager Ron Washington first became involved in professional baseball when he was an 18-year-old back in 1970.

It was then where he signed a deal with the Kansas City Royals. Eventually, Washington broke through to the big leagues after years playing in Mexico. Washington carved out a 10-year career for himself as a utility man with versatility, personality, and a hard-working mindset. He had to be a fundamental player to maximize the most out of his ability.

Taking a page from a book which has lasted over 50 years in professional baseball, the now 73-year-old is aiming to instill a similar mindset within his ballclub.

Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register did notice the Angels working on a bit of a strategy shift ahead of their contest versus the Seattle Mariners.

"The Angels were out doing bunting drills on the field before Wednesday’s game," Fletcher wrote. "Normally they bunt against a pitching machine, but the Angels had 39-year-old pitching coach Barry Enright throwing to them in order to give the drill a more realistic feel. [Manager Ron] Washington said he’d like to see his players try to bunt for hits more often. They haven’t been in position lately to make use of the sacrifice bunt because they’ve mostly been trailing by multiple runs. …"

The decision to implement the bunt essentially goes against modern-day baseball, where moving the runner over and sacrificing an out has been excommunicated for launch angle, walks, and hitting home runs even at the sake of striking out.

Congratulations to Ron Washington on his World Series win. Years ago, I asked him how to bunt. He looked at me sideways, realized I was serious, and then spent 20 gloriously profane minutes with me. Had me out on the field, with a bat in my hands. That man is an amazing teacher.
— Chris Jones (@EnswellJones) November 3, 2021

It only makes sense that Washington wants to get his team back to the basics. By possessing a team that no one would call 'overly talented', winning games becomes far easier if you minimize what you can control — which is effort and playing clean baseball.

Washington is notorious for being detail-oriented, particularly with fielders. He's one of the best developers of infielders the game has seen to date. He has worked and continues to work immensely hard with players on playing the game the right way.

Let us never forget when Ron Washington said this last year about a player not getting a bunt down. pic.twitter.com/GwK4kkeeOy
— jake (@JLoweSnipes22) April 1, 2025

If it leads to a nice win streak, Washington could make bunting an en vogue aspect of baseball once more.

More news: Angels Make Major Change to Starting Rotation

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