OC Register: Hoornstra: In hiring Ron Washington, Angels demonstrate what’s old is new

[AngelsWin.com]

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  New Angels manager Ron Washington answers questions from reporters during his introductory press conference on Wednesday at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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  New Angels manager Ron Washington, left, and General Manager Perry Minasian take their seats during a press conference on Wednesday at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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  New Angels manager Ron Washington answers questions from reporters during his introductory press conference on Wednesday at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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  New Angels manager Ron Washington, right, answers questions from reporters during his introductory press conference on Wednesday at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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  New Angels manager Ron Washington, left, shares a laugh with General Manager Perry Minasian during a press conference on Wednesday at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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  New Angels manager Ron Washington, left, and General Manager Perry Minasian pose for a photo following Washington’s introductory press conference on Wednesday at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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  Members of the media, guests and others gather in the Home Plate Club at Angel Stadium on Wednesday for a press conference introducing Ron Washington, center, as the team’s new manager. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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  New Angels manager Ron Washington claps at the conclusion of his introductory press conference on Wednesday at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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  New Angels manager Ron Washington, right, does an interview with Bally Sports West broadcasters following his introductory press conference on Wednesday at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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  New Angels manager Ron Washington, left, puts on his jersey as Angels general manager Perry Minasian congratulates him during a press conference on Wednesday at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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ANAHEIM — On the surface, there is a trendy undertone to the Angels’ announcement of Ron Washington as their new manager. Look at the last three World Series champions.

Bruce Bochy, 68, just guided the Texas Rangers to a championship in his first season on the bench.

Dusty Baker was 73 when he won his first World Series with the Houston Astros last year.

Brian Snitker was 66 when he won his first World Series with the Atlanta Braves in 2021.

In that context, age looks like a principal reason behind the hire of Washington, 71. And maybe a few gray hairs didn’t hurt his chances.

What helped more was something I overheard one Angels staffer tell another as they left Washington’s introductory press conference on Wednesday afternoon: “I’m ready to run through a wall right now.” Even the sound of Washington speaking in generalities for a few minutes about his vision for the Angels was someone’s perfect hit of energy on a rainy autumn morning, stronger than a dark cup of coffee.

A commanding presence isn’t the only merit for judging a manager, but it’s taken on a larger part of the job as the years have passed. In 2016, for instance, then-Angels general manager Billy Eppler said Manager Mike Scioscia had a seat in the “office of the general manager.”

Now?

Distilling volumes of qualitative and quantitative data to players will be left to the Angels’ coaches, Washington said. (“If there’s some confusion on how it’s being delivered, I’m going to get up there and break that tie,” he said.) Most pregame duties will fall to the coaches too, but Washington said he’ll hit ground balls to the Angels’ infielders, just as he did as a coach in Oakland and Atlanta.

But he acknowledged the job has changed since the last time he managed a game for the Texas Rangers, in 2014.

“What I’ve seen out there is a lot of managers that – them and their organization – have already scripted how the game is going to go,” he said. “And they don’t seem to get off that script. I’m just going to watch the game from the first pitch. Me, my bench coach and my pitching coach, we’re going to put our experience together and from watching the game from the first pitch we’re going to take the information that we have and apply it that way.

“I’m going to write the lineup. I can tell you that now. I’m writing the lineup. I’m writing the lineup.”

That’s the luxury of experience: if your way of doing things worked once, you get the chance to try them again – even if it cuts against the grain of contemporary thinking. The Rangers reached the World Series twice in eight seasons under Washington, who resigned with a .521 regular-season winning percentage.

There is still, of course, a generation gap between Washington and the players, most of whom are less than half his age. That was not an obstacle for Bochy or Baker or Snitker. Washington, who has stayed connected to the game as a coach, should be fine. The ability to connect to your fellow man washes over a variety of differences. Even Angels GM Perry Minasian, at 43, is young enough to be Washington’s son.

What can a manager do to change the direction of a franchise that hasn’t reached the postseason since 2014?

“It’s creating an atmosphere that, when you walk in the building, you feel it,” Minasian said. “There’s a sense of urgency that I think is really, really important to have day in and day out. There’s a sense of responsibility, an expectation. Everybody knows where they stand. Those are all things Wash will bring to the table and enhance our club in that area.”

Perhaps those things were lacking in an era when Phil Nevin managed under an interim tag in Year 1, and had his contract extended by a year as a result of owner Arte Moreno exploring a possible sale. Washington will have more job security: a two-year contract, with an option for a third.

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Washington’s main challenge will be to demonstrate what worked in Texas from 2007-14 can work now. Bobby Valentine once managed the Rangers at 35 years old, younger than some of his players, and the Boston Red Sox at age 62. The change in eras was stark, he said.

“Obviously players receive information differently today and they, most of them, see things and teach themselves what they’re trying to learn from what they’re seeing because they can see it again and again and again,” Valentine said. “Now, because you can see it, the coaching aspect is so much more about what the player’s feeling, as opposed to what he is doing.”

Valentine, now an analyst on the Angels’ regional sports network, believes Washington’s disposition is one that can adapt to the times.

“He was always a giver,” Valentine said. “Some players, when you’re playing, you lock yourself in your little cocoon and it’s all about you. You really have trouble seeing other things because you’re so involved with yourself. He was willing to give stuff rather than receive it. He would be giving to the teammates, and when he coaches … this guy, he’s a coach at heart because coaches don’t get. They always give.”

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[BTH]

3 hours ago, AngelsWin.com said:

Distilling volumes of qualitative and quantitative data to players will be left to the Angels’ coaches, Washington said. (“If there’s some confusion on how it’s being delivered, I’m going to get up there and break that tie,” he said.)

Feels like a notable change.

[The Ghost of Bob Starr]

Was Valentine not an option? 

[Swordsman78]

LOL that a reference was made to "Sense of urgency".   The entire 2022 season was based on "sense of urgency" to get into the playoffs so they can keep Ohtani.

Maybe there was too much "sense of urgency" in 2023.

I'm all in support of the new manager and hope the halos have a better season, which is possible if the players stay healthier than they did last year.   But lets not manufacture issues to fix that weren't actually there.

Edited November 18, 2023 by Swordsman78

[PattyD22]

On 11/16/2023 at 10:01 AM, Swordsman78 said:

LOL that a reference was made to "Sense of urgency".   The entire 2022 season was based on "sense of urgency" to get into the playoffs so they can keep Ohtani.

Maybe there was too much "sense of urgency" in 2022. 

I'm all in support of the new manager and hope the halos have a better season, which is possible if the players stay healthier than they did last year.   But lets not manufacture issues to fix that weren't actually there.

2022?

[RallyMo]

On 11/16/2023 at 12:01 PM, Swordsman78 said:

LOL that a reference was made to "Sense of urgency".   The entire 2022 season was based on "sense of urgency" to get into the playoffs so they can keep Ohtani.

Maybe there was too much "sense of urgency" in 2022. 

I'm all in support of the new manager and hope the halos have a better season, which is possible if the players stay healthier than they did last year.   But lets not manufacture issues to fix that weren't actually there.

Here’s to success in 2023!