Elder Statesmen Beat Astros 4-3

Bring back Wash now. It’s looking bad, the waiting. And wtf is Ray saying about next year? Perry’s not talking to Wash? So he wants to talk to Arte. And he’ll manage elsewhere if not here.

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Ron Washington wants a conversation with Angels owner Arte Moreno, says he can still manageBy NYT Sammy

Sept. 27, 2025 4:00 am MST
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Standing at second base with a fungo bat in hand, Ron Washington was in a familiar spot — a spot he hopes to be in for years to come: in uniform, overseeing a team he’d like to manage again.
This was Friday afternoon before the Los Angeles Angels’ final series of the season. With just days to go in another lost year, the organization has yet to decide who will manage next year.
Washington, 73, is coming off quadruple bypass heart surgery earlier this summer. He said he’s healthy, improving and, most importantly, wants to push for his job once again.
“I was hoping I’d get to see (Angels owner Arte Moreno) this homestead, but he hasn’t made it here yet to the game,” Washington told The Athletic. “I just want to sit down and talk baseball with him. I’ll let them decide if I’m the guy to lead the club.”
If Moreno doesn’t make it to an Angels game before the season’s end, Washington said he’ll set up a call with the elusive owner. He hasn’t talked with general manager Perry Minasian about his managerial future despite his being around the team in Milwaukee and Colorado and now for the final homestand.
Much about the future of the Angels’ leadership remains in flux, with the coming days potentially serving as an inflection point for major change. Minasian remains on contract for another season, and it’s possible five years without improvement could lead to a change.
Interim manager Ray Montgomery expressed similar uncertainty about his future Thursday. He, too, is a candidate to manage the team next year. With the looming lockout, the Angels’ frugal owner might not want to hire a manager on a multiyear contract.
That could also apply to Washington, who has a one-year option on his contract. He’s in the middle of this awkward situation — physically present but without a role.
“My health is very important,” Washington said. “But I don’t think my health is going to have anything to do with me getting back. I’ll be fully ready to get back. I have no doubt about that. It’s just a matter of Perry and the owner making a decision.”
Health, however, will be a key factor in how the Angels evaluate this decision. He’s an elderly man, just months removed from heart surgery. Placing him in an extremely high-stress position might not be in his own best interest or the team’s.
Then there’s the Angels’ feeble record. Perhaps the on-field failures push Moreno to make sweeping changes that take the organization in a new direction.
Ron Washington is not interested in a front-office type of role. “I’m a hands-on guy,” he said. “And that’s not gonna stop.” (G Fiume / Getty Images)
But there is one other key consideration. The Angels performed better earlier this year under Washington’s guidance, before his season ended in mid-June. And Moreno — who visited Washington in the hospital and followed up with a phone call — might feel inclined to bring back his handpicked skipper.
“I’m gonna be in an organization,” Washington said. “So if I’m not managing here, I’m not saying I’m gonna be managing somewhere else, but I’m gonna be in someone’s organization.”
He made it clear he’s not interested in a front-office, advisor type of role, saying: “I’m a hands-on guy. And that’s not gonna stop. I’m the one that’s gonna decide when I’m not hands-on.”
Washington said he expects his rehab to be completed in December and that he’s been doing 30 minutes of cardiovascular work a day. He acknowledged the challenges of maintaining a healthy diet but said he hasn’t smoked a cigarette since his surgery.
The Angels don’t have the luxury of time to wait out Washington’s recovery process. They’ll need to make a decision on picking up his option by November, and they would probably prefer a clear direction before that.
For much of the early part of the season, there were signs of this whole thing turning under Washington. The young players were performing, and they were at least in the competitive mix for several months.
But the bottom has fallen out yet again. And now, the tone and tenor of their circumstances can best be described as angsty. That upward trajectory that defined much of this year has been replaced by doubt, with rampant speculation about big changes coming.
“We’re close to figuring it out,” Washington said. “And I know I can help get them over the hump. What happened to me shouldn’t stop me from helping them get over the hump. I’m gonna be recovered.”
“But,” he added, “the decision is not mine