ARLINGTON, Texas — Oakland special infield instructor Ron Washington was back on the field he called home for nearly eight years on Tuesday. The former manager of the Rangers wants to do that again.
“I do want to manage again,” Washington said Tuesday before the series opener against Texas. “I can help a team. I can direct a team.”
Washington’s first and only managerial job will be remembered for the highs before an unceremonious exit late in the 2014 season. He went 664-611 with the Rangers, leading the club to back-to-back World Series appearances from 2010-11.
He resigned for personal reasons in September of last season.
“I regretted the way I had to leave here,” Washington said. “I regret my wife had to suffer through what she went through. I regret the people I loved suffered with what they went through. I have been dealing with it for 7 1/2 months.
“People don’t know how much pain I was in. But I did what I had to do to save my marriage. Right now, I am in a good place.”
Washington returned to Major League Baseball on May 22 with Oakland A’s — the franchise he worked for before taking over the Rangers in 2007 — to help improve their infield defense.
“I arrived with the single job of helping the infield,” he said. “It has been a lot of fun, six young kids eager to learn. It has been fun getting back on the field and teaching.”