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Beloved ex-Braves coach Ron Washington to abruptly step aside due to health issue

Eric Cole
Eric Cole

House That Hank Built

Los Angeles Angels v Baltimore Orioles / G Fiume/GettyImages

Atlanta Braves fans almost universally love Ron Washington even though he left to become manager of the Angels. Wash was well-known as a master motivator, a stellar infield coach, a third base coach that was never afraid to send anyone, and as a terrific interview who was liable to say just about anything. Ask anyone with the organization and they will talk about how much Washington is missed when given the opportunity. Many hope that he could make his way back to the Braves, but those hopes took a hit after a scary development.

Before the Angels' game on Friday, there was an unexpected team meeting in the Angels' clubhouse that ran over into the media availability window. Unfortunately, the reason for that meeting quickly revealed itself as it was announced that Washington was taking an indefinite leave as the Angels manager due to a health issue. Bench coach Ray Montgomery will manage the Angels while Wash is out.

Ron Washington out indefinitely as Angels manager due to mystery health concern

There is no word what health issue Washington is dealing with and all we know right now is that it was a sudden development and there is not a timeline for his return as of this moment in time.

Angels general Perry Minasian is supposed to address the media soon and hopefully we get more answers soon. We do know that he will be around the club and aiding Minasian in person, but he will not be in the dugout for a while.

While Washington is 73 years old and that health issues are obviously not uncommon at that age, Washington hasn't openly dealt with any health issues in recent years. Up until today, he still seemed to have more energy than just about anybody of any age. One hopes that he is okay and that he can get this health scare behind him.

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Eric Cole

Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.