Ron Washington Latest Deckchair Off Texas Rangers Titanic
Ron Washington has resigned from his post as the manager with the Texas Rangers. While the club’s first black manager claimed he was resigning for undisclosed personal issues, it seems pretty clear he was the victim of one of the worst seasons the now AL West cellar-dwelling franchise has ever seen.
Sitting at 53-87 as of Friday, September 5, 2014 it’s saying something this season ranks among the worst years the team has seen. The Rangers were hardly a juggernaut throughout the history of Major League baseball, but they began winning in the last decade. Quite a bit of those raised expectations surrounding a contending team were directly attributable to Ron Washington. As USA Today points out, among the accomplishments of the now former manager was stewardship of the first World Series appearance in franchise history.
#Rangers manager Ron Washington has resigned, the club announces, to attend to personal matters.
— Jeff Wilson (@JeffWilson_FWST) September 5, 2014
Unfortunately for Washington, the team looked like it was going to also win its first world championship, but the team managed to crumble under pressure and ended up handing the title to the St. Louis Cardinals. Since that appearance, the team has continued to be among the better teams in the American League and looked to be making another run this year with some key acquisitions, including the trade of Ian Kinsler for Prince Fielder. Unfortunately for Washington and company, Fielder as well as other key pieces came down with injury while other underperformed. The final product was a club incapable of holding off even the lowly Houston Astros.
Losing was probably the reason the Rangers were willing to let Ron Washington go, but there does appear to be something going on the former major league player’s personal life as well. In his statement, Washington claims his leaving has nothing to do with the poor record saying,
Today, I have submitted my resignation from the job I love – managing the Rangers – in order to devote my full attention to addressing an off-the-field personal matter. As painful as it is, stepping away from the game is what’s best for me and my family.
It’s possible the poor performance really has nothing to do with his departure. He has admitted to cocaine use before the 2010 season and this could be a situation of a relapse or something else entirely. It seems unlikely the full story of Ron Washington’s departure will be known to anyone other than those closest to him.
