They have now been married for nearly 50 years and still have their home in New Orleans. Not long after that - though she didn’t talk to him for a bit - Washington’s wife told him he had to forgive himself. He revealed two weeks later that he had broken the trust of his wife, Gerry, and said he was more embarrassed than he’d ever been because of that infidelity. The Rangers were on their way to their first losing record in six years, though Washington was expected back in 2015, when he suddenly resigned for personal reasons on Sept. “He always had the right thing to say at the right moment, so I couldn’t be more happy for him,” the Tampa Bay slugger said. He’s a great human being, he’s a baseball guy,” said Cruz, who was at Game 2 to receive Major League Baseball’s Roberto Clemente Award for character, community involvement and philanthropy, and shared a hug with Washington. Josh Hamilton’s two-run homer put the Rangers back ahead in the 10th, and they still led with two strikes on Lance Berkman before his tying, two-out single.
Texas got back to the World Series in 2011, and led 7-5 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth of a potential clincher in Game 6 before David Freese, with two strikes, hit a two-run triple past a leaping Nelson Cruz and off the right-field wall. The Rangers stuck by him then, and again when the story became public the following spring before what became their first World Series season. Washington offered to resign late in the 2009 season after admitting to trying cocaine once while home during the All-Star break, and failing a drug test. Washington then spent four years as a minor league coach before 11 seasons as an assistant in Oakland, the last 10 as the third base coach before becoming the Rangers manager in 2007.
The skinny middle infielder had more than twice as many games in the minors than the majors in 20 seasons as a professional player. When Washington made his major league debut with the Dodgers late in the 1977 season, he was on the same team as Dusty Baker, now the 72-year-old manager of the Astros.
“He means a whole lot to this team, this organization, and to get him back to this chance to win a World Series … there’s a lot of us and a lot of coaches in that room that to win a World Series for them, it would be huge.” “When you know he’s 69 years old, out there all day, working harder than almost all of us, you want to be out there,” Freeman said. Another run on another close play.Įarlier in that opener, Albies made an impressive backhanded snag of a short hop - a play virtually identical to what Washington had worked on with him during the Braves’ workout day before the World Series. Two close plays at the plate, the first Eddie Rosario with a nifty slide after a late jump, but two runs to tie the game before beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the ninth.Įven with Atlanta already up 5-1 in Game 1 of the World Series, Washington sent Dansby Swanson home on a shallow flyball in the eighth inning. There are aggressive and confident sends in crucial situations, such as consecutive plays with Braves down two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series. But, man, that guy is just like, anybody who gets to spend time with him, he’ll get you to run through a wall in two seconds.” “He’s the most engaging, charismatic, best-connecting coach I’ve seen,” general manager Alex Anthopoulos said. Now in his fifth season on manager Brian Snitker’s staff in Atlanta, the third base coach has certainly played a huge part in the Braves returning to the World Series for the first time since 1999. In 20, he led the Rangers to back-to-back World Series appearances - their only two American League pennants. Washington’s passion for the game is still unwavering at age 69 after five decades in professional baseball as a player, coach and manager. The next three games are in Atlanta, starting with Game 3 on Friday night.
This series is even at a game each after Houston won 7-2 on Wednesday night. Louis exactly 10 years ago Wednesday night before also dropping Game 7. Still, Washington can’t help but remember how agonizingly close Texas was before losing in 11 innings at St.