"He believes in taking care of all of his people" - Ron Washington revisits his time with Braves to praise Atlanta GM Alex Anthopoulos

The LA Angels hired Ron Washington to replace Phil Nevin as their new manager last year. Nevin was unable to improve the team's performance, contributing to the Angels’ longest non-playoff streak in MLB history (9 seasons). Despite having Shohei Ohtani, the team struggled to compete in their division.

Ron Washington, 71, previously managed the Texas Rangers from 2007 to 2014 and then worked as the Atlanta Braves' third base coach. During an episode of "Foul Territory," Washington discussed his relationship with the current Braves' GM, Alex Anthopoulos.

“Yes I did, I’ve talked with him,” Washinton said when asked about Anthopoulos’ contract extension with the Braves.

“Alex is a great man. He believes in taking care of all of his people, and he did. He took care of me the times I was there,” he added.

Washington also mentioned that he had been offered jobs in the past but decided not to leave.

“A lot of people don't know, I was definitely offered jobs to leave, but I told Alex when I got there, ‘I'm not leaving Atlanta unless I get a manager job,'” he added.

He mentioned that Anthopoulos had offered him work opportunities from time to time, but Washington remained true to his word.

“He would come to me every year and say, ‘Hey, this organization called and they would like you to come do this, they would like you to come do that.' I said, ‘Alex, I'm not leaving here.' And I stayed true to that. And I didn't leave until it was time to manage,” Washington said.

What adversaries does Ron Washington have to face next year with the Angels?

In 2023, the Los Angeles Angels could only win 73 games. Ron Washington, who has experience coaching teams like the Texas Rangers and the Oakland Athletics, is expected to use his expertise to turn things around for the Angels.

One player that Washington will surely miss in the upcoming season is the team's former MVP, Shohei Ohtani. However, he will still have the three-time MVP Mike Trout on his side. Nonetheless, the season will be challenging as the Angels have yet to sign any big names in the offseason.

Moreover, Ron Washington's biggest challenge will be against their city rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, who spurged big this offseason to build an All-Star lineup for 2024.