Ron Washington might be the ultimate baseball lifer. The former Los Angeles Angels manager is back on the field with the San Francisco Giants in an instructional role, conducting the same in fielding drills he’s either done or coached for most of his adult life.

Washington is 74, and according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, he shows some of the physical ravages of time and illnesss. He had quadruple bypass surgery last summer, and he has an assistant to help him run those infield drills now. He’s dropped from 172 pounds down to 152 after his surgery, and the once-wiry, 5’11” Washington is proud to show the definition that’s returned to his biceps.

Advertisement

What he’s not proud of, though, is how he was treated by the Angels and another club he approached to try and land a job. Angels GM Perry MInasian told Washington he lost his job in Anaheim because of the club’s performance, but he still doesn’t believe that.

“I didn’t lose that job because of the record we had,” Washington said. “I lost that job because of my condition.

“If I wouldn’t have had an operation, I still think Perry would have kept me over there. I understand what he did. But the Giants came in and didn’t second-guess. They came in and believed in me.”

Advertisement

The Cincinnati Reds did the same thing to Washington, according to Rosenthal’s interview. Reds manager Terry FRancona called Washington after the season ended, and both baseball lifers were excited about having Washington join Francona’s staff.

“They got afraid of me,” Washington said, referring to the Reds’ front office. “They got afraid of my condition.”

Reds GM Nick Krall denies this, and his time with Washington goes back to 2002, when Krall was an intern with the A’s. But it was the Giants who finally extended a baseball lifeline to Washington, and it was Giants bench coach Jayce Tingler, who worked with the Texas Rangers when Washington was the team’s manager, who extended the invite because of Washington’s knowledge of tendencies, traits and characteristics, both on the field and off.

Advertisement

Perry Minasian has a younger bother, Zack, who happens to be the Giants GM, and while Minasian may not have been able to hire Washington, he told his brother has no doubt about the baseball part of what’s happening.

“He’ll be great. He’ll be awesome,” Perry told Zack. “Just make sure he’s healthy.”