Ron Washington is on a mission to change the culture with the Los Angeles Angels and make them into a playoff contending team. In his second season managing the team, Washington has the Angels competing for a top spot in the American League West division.
After finishing the 2024 season with a 63-99 record in his first season with the Angels, Washington was ready to go into the 2025 season with a new mindset.
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Ron Washington & LA Angels Are Improving
The Angels started the season with a loss to the Chicago White Sox and then the team went on a four-game winning streak. Through 21 games this season, the Angles have won 11 games, a two-game improvement from last year’s win column through the same number of games.
Washington’s team has lost 10 games during that stretch and five of those losses have been by two runs or less. So the Angels have played competitive baseball to start the season and that’s something Washington wants his team to continue to do.
Washington’s previous success as a manager
Washington is no stranger to success during his time as a manager. His last stop as a manager was with the Texas Rangers. He spent his first eight seasons as a manager in Arlington and finished with a 664-611 record and made two World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011.
It wasn’t until his third season that he posted a winning record, leading his team to a 87-75 record during the 2009 season, but failed to make the postseason.
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After the 2009 season, the Angels would go on to have four consecutive winning seasons and made the postseason three consecutive years from 2010 to 2012.
The last time the Angels made the postseason was back in 2014 there was a reason the organization hired Washington last season, because they believe he has what it takes to get them over the hump and have them be a competitive team in the American League.
Adell, Paris stepping up this season
Two of our MLBbro’s have played significant roles early in the season for the Angels and have made names for themselves across the league. Jo Adell and Kyren Paris have made it known that they have what it takes to be successful in this league.
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Adell has made an imprint in the Angels lineup so far this season and has shown a lot of growth from when he made his big league debut in 2020. The 26-year-old is hitting .224 with two homers and 12 RBI through 17 games this season. On Sunday, he came up clutch as he propelled his team to a 5-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants, hitting a three-run double to walk it off for the Angels.
Washington credited his team’s resilience after the victory against the Giants.
“It just shows you, we’re not quitters, we kept fighting,” Washington said. “It was against their closer, and we got into a situation where we had a chance to put it away, and we finally got a big hit in that situation, and that’s what it’s about.”
Paris was a player that was widely talked about throughout the league at the start of the season. He collected a five-game hitting streak and recorded a hit in eight of his first ten games.
Though he’s cooled off recently, he has shown that he provides a spark in the Angels lineup, and he can make a significant impact. Washington certainly took notice of Paris’ early season success. He knows there is still plenty of unlocked potential in his young player.
