Rangers History Today: Ron Washington Steps Down
On this date in franchise history, Ron Washington resigned as manager of the Texas Rangers.
On September 5, 2014, the Rangers had the worst record in the Major Leagues. Texas was 53-87 as it continued a four-game set with the Seattle Mariners in Arlington. Before the game, Washington decided it was time to go. He announced he was stepping aside to attend to a personal matter, and the Rangers handed the reins to Tim Bogar for the remainder of the season.
The season had been a disaster for Texas. Ravaged by a myriad of injuries, they had already set records for most players and pitchers used in a season before Washington’s resignation. But ‘Wash’ left the franchise as undoubtedly its most successful manager.
The journeyman infielder played 12 Major League seasons and was even a non-roster invitee to Rangers spring training in 1990. Once he was done playing, he carved out coaching roles with the New York Mets and the Oakland Athletics, the latter of which coming in the ‘Moneyball’ era (an actor playing Washington had a small part in the movie adaptation of the book). He was largely credited with the development of Oakland infielders Eric Chavez and Miguel Tejada.
When the Rangers hired Washington on November 6, 2006, it was his first managerial job, replacing Buck Showalter. He beat out, among others, Rangers bench coach Don Wakamatsu and former Rangers catcher John Russell. Washington inherited a team that had been just under .500 for the past two seasons but was trying to re-make itself in the post-Alex Rodriguez era.
Methodically, the Rangers built a roster for the future, accelerated by the Mark Teixeira trade. By 2010, the Rangers were not only back to winning the American League West, but they made their first trip to the World Series, and in 2011 the Rangers returned once again. The Rangers lost that latter Fall Classic appearance in a heartbreaking seven-game series to the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Rangers reached the postseason one more time, in 2012, losing in the Wild Card game. In 2013, the Rangers won 91 games but failed to make the playoffs.
Washington finished as the winningest manager in Rangers history, going 664–611.
Also on this date …
September 5, 2002: Alex Rodriguez became the fifth player in MLB history to have two straight 50-home run seasons, when he hit two home runs against Baltimore to reach 50 for the season.
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