\u201cI have to accept that,\u201d Washington said then.<\/p>\n
But he doesn\u2019t have to believe it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t lose that job because of the record we had,\u201d Washington said. \u201cI lost that job because of my condition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I wouldn\u2019t have had an operation, I still think Perry would have kept me over there. I understand what he did. But the Giants came in and didn\u2019t second-guess. They came in and believed in me.\u201d<\/p>\n
And they weren\u2019t alone.<\/p>\n
Washington said Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona called him the day after the season ended. They spoke for about two weeks, and, according to Washington, grew increasingly excited by the possibility of Washington joining Francona\u2019s staff.<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey got afraid of me,\u201d Washington said, referring to the Reds\u2019 front office. \u201cThey got afraid of my condition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reds general manager Nick Krall denies that was the case. Krall knew Washington from his time as an intern with the A\u2019s in 2002. Francona worked alongside Washington as the A\u2019s bench coach in \u201803. Both are fond of their former colleague, with Krall saying, \u201cI love Wash.\u201d<\/p>\n
But after bench coach Brad Mills retired and third base coach JR House left for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Krall said the Reds wanted to replace them from within by promoting Mike Napoli and Willie Harris.<\/p>\n
Washington, though, had another old friend who was eager to reunite with him: Giants bench coach Jayce Tingler, who worked in the Texas Rangers organization while Washington was the team\u2019s manager.<\/p>\n
Tingler was a low-level minor-league coach and manager during Washington\u2019s tenure, then minor-league field coordinator. Where he stood in the organization made little difference to Washington. Tingler said the manager always treated him and his staff like \u201cabsolute gold.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Oct. 22, the Giants made Vitello, Tingler\u2019s close friend and former college teammate at Missouri, the first college coach to jump directly into a major-league managing job. Tingler, who managed the San Diego Padres in 2020 and \u201821, was practically an automatic choice for Vitello\u2019s staff. But Vitello wanted at least one more experienced hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe kept bringing up tendencies, traits, characteristics,\u201d Tingler said. \u201cHe said he wanted a guy that has been there, who is well-respected, had a work ethic. It immediately dawned on me \u2014 I\u2019ve got a guy. Tony basically was describing Ron Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n
Did Washington, who entered pro ball 55 years ago, think twice about working for Vitello, who has never worked at the professional level?<\/p>\n
Just the opposite.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt didn\u2019t bother me at all. There are a lot of guys in the game today that never played in the big leagues. They\u2019ve got jobs, and they\u2019re doing a good job,\u201d Washington said. \u201cHe\u2019s sharp. He knows baseball. And he\u2019s got myself and Tingler and other coaches around to help him where he might have some deficiencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want him running around here thinking he don\u2019t belong. That man has managed a lot of ballgames and he has been successful. Yeah, it\u2019s not pro ball. But he stood in a dugout and he had to make decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vitello, in turn, already is a fan of Washington, saying if you ask him a question, he not only will provide the answer more often than not, but \u201cgive it to you with all his soul.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even Minasian, the Angels executive who parted with Washington, offered high praise to his younger brother Zack, the Giants\u2019 GM.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll be great. He\u2019ll be awesome,\u201d Perry told Zack. \u201cJust make sure he\u2019s healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his final days with the Angels, Washington felt sluggish. His ankles were swollen. Doctors performed a battery of tests. The final one, an angiogram, revealed the blockage in his arteries.<\/p>\n
Washington said he wasn\u2019t scared until he was in the recovery room after his quadruple bypass and saw wires popping out of him everywhere. At one point, he thought he had died. But no, he was just living a bad dream.<\/p>\n
The surgery was on June 30. By July 15, he was in rehab. Riding a stationary bike. Walking on a treadmill. Doing shoulder exercises. Washington was alarmed that he became so thin. Pointing to his legs, he said, \u201cThese sons of guns were so skinny, it was ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n
Washington was an infielder with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1977, the Minnesota Twins from 1981 to \u201886 and three other clubs from \u201887 to \u201889. He lost two World Series as manager of the Rangers. He won one as a coach with the Braves. He approached his recovery with his usual fervor, an energy that some half his age cannot duplicate.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether it\u2019s a rehab situation or his new diet or his new habits . . . I wouldn\u2019t call it bragging, but he believes in himself,\u201d Vitello said. \u201cAnd if it\u2019s a competitive situation, he\u2019s going to be good at it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Washington adopted a low-sodium diet. No more bacon, ham and processed meats. Egg whites and turkey sausage are more his speed now. And, he said, \u201cI\u2019m eating the hell out of some fruit.\u201d<\/p>\n
About six weeks ago, he started lifting weights. At first, he could barely pick up a three-pound dumbbell. His doctor told him, don\u2019t get anxious, build up slowly. Now, Washington said, \u201cI\u2019m throwing five pounds around like it\u2019s nothing.\u201d One day he will go to 10 pounds. No need to rush. Maybe this summer. Maybe next year.<\/p>\n
Washington said he would have worked hard regardless, but when the Giants hired him, \u201cI really buckled down and made sure I got myself strong, ready to come out here. Every day, the (players) try to get stronger and build. I\u2019m no different. I\u2019m trying to get stronger and build, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zack Minasian said the Giants obviously will watch Washington closely. Vitello, noting that Washington is following the necessary regimen, said, \u201cI don\u2019t worry about him more than I worry about anyone else.\u201d But Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey perhaps put it best.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re concerned, but you\u2019re going to trust the doctors and trust him, what he\u2019s saying and feeling,\u201d Posey said. \u201cYou can make an argument as well that it would be more detrimental for him to sit at home and not be out here doing what he loves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Borg is on one knee, Adames on both, fielding one-hoppers. Off flips. Off the fungo. With his mitt. With a pancake training glove. Standing up, moving side to side.<\/p>\n
Washington stands nearby, explaining to Adames, an eight-year veteran, that his drills are all about mastering technique, creating proper angles with your hands. At one point, Washington bends down and holds Adames\u2019 elbow, advising him to keep his glove down, then extend upward through the ball. One move. One motion.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh yeah!\u201d Washington shouts when Adames nails the technique. \u201cBeautiful!\u201d<\/p>\n
Most players know of Washington\u2019s reputation as an infield guru, if not the story of Chavez, the A\u2019s former third baseman, presenting the coach with his 2004 Gold Glove.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-57245652-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Washington and Eric Chavez celebrate the third baseman\u2019s fifth consecutive Gold Glove award on Opening Day in 2006. (Jed Jacobsohn \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Devers, who converted from third base to first after getting traded from the Boston Red Sox to the Giants in June, beams when asked what it\u2019s like working with Washington. And Washington already is raving about Devers, who the Giants believe by the end of last season was above-average at first.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always thought he was a good third baseman when he was in Boston,\u201d Washington said. \u201cYeah, he made some mistakes. But the mistakes he made were decisions. We can fix those, so he makes better decisions. That\u2019s just getting yourself in a better position, knowing what you\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t just teach infield. I teach definition. I teach understanding. I teach why. I teach how. Everything we\u2019re doing out here, we\u2019re doing with a purpose, and with some knowledge behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not surprisingly, Washington also believes he can help Arraez, who said he chose a one-year, $12 million deal with the Giants over multiyear offers from other clubs because he wanted to return to second base after playing mostly first base last season for the Padres.<\/p>\n
Arraez, who turns 29 in April, rated among the worst defenders at second in 2023 and \u201824.<\/p>\n
\u201cWill he be a Gold Glove? I don\u2019t know,\u201d Washington said. \u201cBut can we make him efficient? Yes. That\u2019s what our goal is. Just to make him efficient.\u201d<\/p>\n
Washington did not look or act like a man less than seven and a half months removed from quadruple bypass surgery. No, he sounded as fierce as ever, talking about giving today hell, and tomorrow, too. As another spring dawned, hearing him shout at Adames, \u201cI\u2019m a bad m\u2014\u2013f\u2014er!\u201d was almost as sweet a sound as hearing the first pop of the glove.<\/p>\n
The way Washington sees it, his career features one example after another of people believing in him. The Giants believed in him when other teams did not. And he will do everything possible to reward their faith.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to let \u2018em down,\u201d Washington said. \u201cI\u2019m working my ass off to make sure I don\u2019t let \u2018em down.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. \u2014 For anyone who has ever watched Ron Washington work with infielders, the sight was unusual,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":745633,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[7,28299,6060,16517],"class_list":{"0":"post-745632","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-los-angeles-angels","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-san-francisco-giants"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116054094395887815","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/745632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=745632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/745632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/745633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=745632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=745632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=745632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}