SEATTLE — The A’s didn’t quite run themselves out of Sunday’s series finale against Tampa Bay — they did, after all, hammer the Rays 8-2 — but they decided to run off their third-base coach.
Mike Gallegos was relieved of his duties Monday, marking the first domino to fall in a rebuilding season that is trending toward the franchise’s first 90-loss campaign since 1997. What really made the news interesting was who replaced him at third base Monday night.
Ron Washington, the 63-year-old former Texas Rangers manager, moved up from his post as the A’s infield coach to take over for Gallegos. Washington was Oakland’s third-base coach before the Rangers hired him to manage the team in 2007.
Manager Bob Melvin told reporters before Monday’s game that he made the call to let Gallegos go.
“We are at the top of the league in guys getting thrown out at home,” Melvin said, “and we’ve had a lot of one-run games.”
Sunday’s game was the final straw, despite the one-sided victory. Gallegos was late to put up a stop sign, nearly costing the A’s a run at the plate, and Oakland’s base running was sloppy throughout that game.
How much a third-base coach can affect a team’s fortunes is subject to debate, but Washington certainly got plenty of work in Monday night’s 11-5 win over Seattle.
If nothing else, the A’s now have the most high-profile third-base coach in the game.