Drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 1970, he
spent 7 years in the minors before the Dodgers briefly called him up in 1977.
He batted .368 over the course of 10 games before being sent back to the
minors. In 1981, the Twins brought him up and he spent 9 seasons in the major
leagues before retiring as a player in 1990. He moved on to coaching,
spending 5 years in the New York Mets system and in 1996, his former manager
with the Astros Art Howe picked him to be on his coaching staff. He
coached 1B, 3B and worked with the infielders. 3B Eric Chavez credited
Ron for helping him become a 6 time Gold Glove winner. On November
6, 2006, the Texas Rangers signed Ron Washington to become the manager of the
team. During his tenure, he has shown
that he is a great manager who will use every man on the roster during the
course of the year. He wears his
emotions on his sleeve in the dugout and is loved by his players.
When the Rangers came here on their last home
stand, I was able to ask Ron who he loved as a player. “Dusty Baker, because when I first came to
the majors, Dusty took care of me”, was the response from Ron. He signed my well worn (and now retired from
getting autographs on) ball. Ron
Washington is a nice man who proves to one and all that persistence pays off.
He never quit, he continued working hard, and now he’s one of the top
managers in the game.
I wasn’t able to get a picture with him, but my
best friend Dr. Rebecca Herman did. She was granted a 30 minute interview with
Ron to discuss a book she is working on.
Here is a picture of them together.
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