Mac Engel: At 74, Ron Washington has words of advice: 'Don't stop'

Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Aug 6, 2026

Published in Baseball

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ARLINGTON, Texas — A rule for all people, not just sports journalists, is that if Ron Washington has a minute, you take no less than 10.

One 10-minute chat with Washington can provide 10 years of memories, and stories. Few people in the history of the game are as colorful, charming, genuine, authentic and honest as Wash’.

The former Texas Rangers manager is back in Arlington, this time as a coach with the San Francisco Giants.

“I am here to teach them. The fundamentals are still the same, the players are different today. They all want to hit home runs because that’s where the money is,” he said. “They are sending these kids up the big leagues to the fire, but they don’t have a hose. They’re out here with a water bottle.”

He looks good. Sounds good.

“I feel good,” he said Tuesday night on the field before the Rangers hosted the Giants in the second of their three-game series.

The last time Wash’ was in Arlington was August 2025, when he was on leave as the manager of the Anaheim Angels; he talked to the media at Globe Life Mall before an Angels/Rangers series about the medical emergency he suffered two months prior which resulted in a quadruple bypass heart surgery. At the time, he planned to return to the Angels after the season.

The Angels fired him after the season was over, a decision that Washington said was not health-related.

He’s 74, and for Washington “retirement” is a four-letter word. The Giants hired Washington in December as their infield coach, and a reliable source of unending advice to their first-time MLB manager, former TCU assistant coach Tony Vitello.

Wash’ remains one of the most popular figures in the history of the Rangers. He was their manager from 2007 to 2014, and led the team to their first two World Series appearances.

There are not many Washingtons remaining in big league baseball. Men who joined the pro game in their teens, and are still in it in their 70s. He started his career in pro ball in 1970, and he’s still in it here in 2026.

For those of you who are familiar with Wash’, you know he’s been through the washer, dryer, microwave, freezer, oven and blender. Every single time he’s been in one of these appliances, sometimes by his own unintentional volition, he walks out and comes back not just to life, but to work.

The 20-something may not appreciate Washington. Same for the 30-year-old. They’re not going to get it. The younger person will have a harder time appreciating what Washington has done, and does, just to go back to the ballpark.

He’s fallen down. He’s bleeped-up. He’s embarrassed himself, and his team, the Rangers. He nearly died. He’ll own it. He’s still here.

At some point, you stand back and give a man like Washington his due. He didn’t quit. He didn’t retreat to a home in New Orleans, and hide from life. He got the hell over it, and got back to living.

To the 40-and-above crowd, Washington is a point of inspiration. Wash’ won’t see it that way, but you put some respect on Washington’s name. Flaws, warts, losses, wins and all.

“You just keep going,” he said. “Don’t stop. That’s all it is. You just keep going.”

One major change that Wash’ made to his life is now permanent. Unlike so many previous attempts to stop smoking, Washington’s bypass surgery successfully forced him to give up the habit.

“I had to. I miss it, but I don’t crave it,” he said. “Once I got all of the wires, and tubes, and all of that stuff off of my chest, I had no choice but to stop.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Wash’ stood on the infield hitting ground balls to a team that is one of the youngest in Major League Baseball. There have been few coaches in the last 40 years of baseball who are regarded as a better coach of infielders than he is.

He has done virtually everything a person can in the game. Good, and bad. He was a member of the Atlanta Braves coaching staff when the team won the World Series in 2021.

“That’s why I’m still doing this,” he said, “I want to win another World Series.”

Well out of the playoff race, the Giants aren’t winning the World Series this year.

But Major League Baseball wins with Washington in it.

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