Ron Washington

Date of Birth: 4/29/1952
Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana
College: State College of Florida

Ron Washington, former manager of the Texas Rangers, was first signed as a player in 1970 by the Kansas City Royals. However, he never played in the majors with them, spending his first 10 years in professional baseball primarily in the minor leagues. In 1977, he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 10 games, but the rest of his time until 1981 was with minor league teams for the Royals, the Dodgers and the New York Mets.

Washington's major league career really began in 1981, when he joined the Minnesota Twins. Over the next nine years, Washington played for the Twins for 6 years and for successive years with the Baltimore Orioles (1987), the Cleveland Indians (1988), and the Houston Astros (1989). His batting average over his ten years with major league teams was 2.61.

Washington spent 1990 in the minor leagues before retuning to the Mets in 1991 in a nonplayer role He stayed with the Mets until 1996, when he moved to a coaching position with the Oakland Athletics. He stayed with the Athletics until 2007, when he became the manager of the Texas Rangers.

As manager of the Rangers for eight years, Washington led the team to five winning seasons (2009-2013), two first place finishes in the AL West division and four second place finishes. He struggled in his first two years as manager, but after that the team had records of 87-75 in 2009, 90-72 in 2010, 96-66 in 2011, 93-69 in 2012, and 91-72 in 2013. In 2010, Washington led the Rangers to wins in the AL division series and the AL championship series and to their first World Series, which they lost to the San Francisco Giants in five games. The following year, the Rangers went to their second World Series, again losing, this time to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. In 2012, the Rangers lost to the Detroit Tigers in the first round of playoff games.

The Rangers had a terrible season in 2014. Plagued by injuries, the team struggled all season, finishing in last place in the AL West division with a dismal 67-95 record.

In February, 2013, the Rangers gave Washington a one-year contract extension through 2015. On September 6, Washington surprised the baseball world when he suddenly resigned his position as manager of the Rangers. In eight years as manager of the Rangers, Washington has a 664-611 win-loss record.

Washington was a coach with the Oakland Athletics in 2015. He was hired as the Atlanta Braves' third base coach in October, 2016.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Ron Washington
Baseball Reference - Ron Washington