Last night, Ron Washington was hired by the Angels to become their next manager, which had Braves Country in shambles. There might not be a more beloved figure — player or coach — in Atlanta sports. I don’t know anyone that had a negative thing to say about Washington during his tenure as the Braves third base coach, and Alex Anthopoulos reiterated that to the media yesterday.
Alex Anthopoulos on Wash: "He's everything you can want. He deserves the opportunity…It's a huge loss for us. And I emphasize that in caps, bold, italicize it, whatever. I can't imagine I'll be around another guy like that in my entire career."
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) November 8, 2023
The Angels got better yesterday. I’m not sure there’s a man around the game more prepared for what he is going to have to deal with in Los Angeles. The Angels have not been to the playoffs since 2014 and are on the verge of letting Shohei Ohtani walk in free agency.
The Braves, on the other hand, are left scrambling in search of a replacement for not only Ron Washington but Eric Young Sr. as well, who is joining Washington in Los Angeles.
“I talked to Snit,” Anthopoulos said, via David O’Brien of The Athletic. “Obviously, we’re (still) wrapping our head around all that. We have time, though. It’s definitely not something we had on our radar, to do staffing. But we’ll take our time with it.”
But let’s be clear, nobody can completely fill the void that is now left by the former Braves third base coach.
“We’re not going to be able to replace Wash, there’s no doubt about that,” Anthopoulos said, via David O’Brien of The Athletic. “I don’t think anybody can. I said this in another interview. (Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster) Joe Davis said it best when he talked about how people said, ‘Oh, you’re replacing Vin Scully.’ No, he followed (Scully). And I think someone just is going to follow (Washington).”
Washington has been instrumental to the Braves success, particularly with the younger players. He’s one of the hardest workers in the game, dedicating endless hours working with the infield. Every member of the Braves can thank Ron Washington for where they are today, and every Angels player he has the opportunity of managing will eventually do the same.
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Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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