Ron Washington resigned as Rangers’ manager on Friday, with less than a month to go in the 2014 season. The only information available is that Washington, who has been at the helm in Texas since November of 2006, was giving up his position for personal reasons, according to the Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish. Bench coach Tim Bogar will take over for Washington for the rest of 2014, per Bob Dutton. Bogar’s only experience as a manager is at the minor-league level, but he’s a three-time manager of the year on the farm.
Ron Washington resigns as Rangers manager for ‘personal reasons’
It’s unclear just what those personal reasons are, but Washington has decided to depart from Texas.
Ed Zurga
This is completely out of nowhere, as there were no hints at discontent or animosity in Texas, and this isn’t the first season that the Rangers have underperformed under Washington, either, since he took over during their mid-aughts rebuild for Buck Showalter. It’s unrelated to baseball and the Rangers’ specifically, though, as Washington himself said in his press release. For now, all we know -- and all Washington has said -- is that it’s personal, unrelated to baseball, and he thanks the baseball world in advance for respecting his privacy on the matter.
Lone Star Ball
"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."
Over eight years, Washington’s Rangers went 664-611 and won a pair of consecutive American League pennants. They failed to bring home a World Series, but Washington was the team’s skipper during the most successful run they’ve ever had in their 54 years of existence. Washington is the only Rangers’ manager in history to bring the team to any World Series, never mind two, and is also the only manager to bring Texas to the postseason in three straight years -- the only other manager to bring them three times in total was Johnny Oates, in 1996, 1997, and 1999.
There is no word on if this is a temporary absence, or when the Rangers will seek to replace Washington. Just what Texas will be seeking from their next manager is unknown as well: Washington’s style never really matched up with that of general manager Jon Daniels, given Washington’s old-school ways and Daniels’ more progressive, modern work, but the two undeniably worked well together in making the Rangers into a successful franchise like never before.
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