After a season full of countless injuries and immeasurable disappointment, the Texas Rangers just took another hit as manager Ron Washington unexpectedly announced his resignation. Washington released a statement explaining his decision, via T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com:
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.
This is in no way related to the disappointing performance of the team this season. We were already discussing 2015 and looking forward to getting the Rangers back to postseason contention.
I deeply regret that I’ve let down the Rangers organization and our great fans. Over the past eight seasons, it’s been a privilege to be part of some of the best years in club history and I will always be grateful for the opportunities I’ve had here, and for the great management, players, and coaches who have made our time here a success. Thank you for respecting my privacy.
While Washington certainly had his detractors due to some of his in-game tactical shortcomings, this is a major blow to the Rangers franchise as they lose the one manager that was ever able to helm the Rangers to a World Series appearance, doing so in 2010 and 2011. Now they have to not only find a way to fix an injury-ravaged roster that is on its way to finishing with the worst record in baseball but also replace their manager of the last eight years. That’s an unanticipated challenge that the front office just doesn’t need.
This isn’t the first major resignation for Texas this year either as Nolan Ryan stepped down as CEO of the team back in October after a prolonged power struggle with GM Jon Daniels. Suffice it say, it has been a trying year for the team. Having said that, this might prove to be a blessing in disguise for Texas.
There were rumblings after last season that Washington was on the hot seat after the Rangers failed to reach the post-season. The mess that has been their 2014 season only re-ignited those rumors. Now the decision to whether or not to fire Washington has been taken out of Daniels’ hands. What he is left with is an opportunity to name a replacement that will be a better philosophical match for the progressive-minded Daniels than the old school Washington ever was.
In the mean time, Tim Bogar will serve as the interim manager. Bogar could well become a front-runner for the permanent position as he has been a hot name in managerial prospect circles the last few years. Whoever ultimately gets the job has quite the task in front of them as they will be inheriting a huge mess while simultaneously replacing the most successful manager in franchise history.
As for Washington, we don’t know the nature of the “personal matter” that forced this decision, but obviously we hope that it turns out well for him. It does bear mentioning that Washington had a previous problem with cocaine that nearly caused him to quit baseball back in 2010.
