Tony Vitello’s Low-Key Approach Recruited Ron Washington to Giants Staff

It’s one of those facts that shows just how long Ron Washington has been in baseball.

He’s a lifer, so much so that his baseball career started in 1977 when he was promoted to the Majors by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Vitello didn’t see his debut. In fact, at the time, Vitello didn’t exist. He wouldn’t be born until 1978. By then, Washington was back in the minor leagues.

Washington is an institution in the game, especially in the Bay Area. He was a coach for the Athletics for two different stretches, the first coming during the team’s “Moneyball” era, with his defensive coaching acumen detailed in the Michael Lewis book and the movie of the same name. He returned after he was fired as manager of the Texas Rangers.

Now, he’s back. Washington is in his 56th spring training as the San Francisco Giants’ infield coach under Vitello, the new manager. They had never met before this spring. But Washington detailed how his return to the Bay Area came to be, joking that he and Vitello “had an affair,” as he spoke with CBS Sports Bay Area’s Matt Lively.

Ron Washington’s “Affair” with Tony Vitello

Ron Washington and Tony Vitello were drawn together this offseason. The legendary coach has been around the bigs longer than the manager has been alive, giving him an invaluable resource to tap into in year one. #SFGiants | @kpixtv pic.twitter.com/nOciTr4l2N
— Matt Lively (@mattblively) February 16, 2026

Washington and the Los Angeles Angels parted ways after the end of last season. He lasted two seasons as manager but missed part of 2025 after he had a health scare that led to quadruple bypass heart surgery.

As he continued to get better, Vitello called him in the offseason — but not about a job. Or at least he didn’t make it look that way.

“He called me and to be honest with you he's a heck of a recruiter,” Washington said. “He never mentioned about me coming on as one of his coaches. We just had an affair. So, we talked on the phone, he called me every afternoon and then he sent me a text and decided to fly me out to Nashville for lunch.”

Vitello’s low-key approach worked. Washington agreed in December to be the team’s infield coach. Considered one of the best infield coaches in baseball, former Athletics third baseman Eric Chavez has repeatedly credited the 73-year-old baseball lifer for helping him become a Gold Glove-level defender.

He did the same for other players while a third base coach in Atlanta, where he finally claimed a World Series ring in 2021. After a couple of days of workouts with position players, it’s become clear that he sees Rafael Devers and Bryce Eldridge, both of which will play first base, as early pet projects.

He’s not worried about his health, saying that he’s recovered from surgery and doing great. Baseball can be a great revitalizer.

“I'm in the mode of a player right now,” Washington said. “I'm just going to get better as the year go along you know? I'm really doing good health-wise. I really am. I'm eating good, I'm sleeping good and I'm able to come out here and use this [shows his bat] which is my bread and butter.”

Ron Washington’s “Affair” with Tony Vitello

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