Well, another one bites the dust in the City of Angels. The Los Angeles Angels have decided to clean house, showing Manager Ron Washington the exit door after a tenure that was, to put it mildly, a spectacular dud. Interim Manager Ray Montgomery is also packing his bags, leaving the Angels’ managerial chair as cold as their bats have been for the last decade.
The team announced the breakup on Tuesday, which, let’s be honest, surprised absolutely no one. Washington’s time with the Angels was more of a blink-and-you ‘ll-miss-it affair than a storied chapter in baseball history.
What Went Wrong In Washington’s Tenure?
Hired in 2024, the 73-year-old Washington was supposed to be the seasoned veteran who could finally inject some life into this perpetually underachieving franchise. Instead, the Angels just kept on underachieving, finishing dead last in the AL West for two consecutive seasons under his “leadership.” The team posted a dismal 63-99 record in his first year and followed it up with a slightly less dismal, but still very much not good, 72-90 record this season. It is like trying to fix a leaky faucet with a hammer; you’re making a lot of noise, but the problem’s still there.
To add a layer of human drama to the whole mess, Washington took a medical leave in June for quadruple bypass surgery. While he recovered, Montgomery took the helm, but it seems he couldn’t steer the Titanic away from the iceberg either. Washington had expressed a desire to return for the 2026 season, but the Angels opted not to pick up his club option. Ouch.
Another Managerial Carousel For the Angels
So, here we go again. The Angels are now on the hunt for their fourth manager in five years. This franchise has become a masterclass in irrelevance, a feat made all the more baffling when you remember they had Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani on the same roster for years. They have not sniffed the postseason since 2014 and haven’t even managed a winning record since 2015. That’s not just a slump; that’s a full-blown coma.
The next poor soul to take this job will be tasked with changing a culture of losing that’s more embedded than a Hollywood star’s footprints in cement. But a new manager can only do so much. The bigger question mark hangs over General Manager Perry Minasian. Will he be the one trying to assemble a winning roster, or will he be the next one to get the boot?
For now, the Angels join a growing list of teams looking for a new skipper this winter. It’s a tough gig, but hey, someone’s gotta do it. Good luck to whoever draws the short straw on this one; they’re going to need it.
