So Ron Washington failed a drug test for cocaine. Shame on him. But since the story broke, I’ve witnessed a man take responsibility and hone up to his mistakes better than any other sports figure of this generation. While most of these guys deny accusations for months, sometimes years, until their glass house of lies comes crumbling down, only THEN to make apologies and fess up to their misdeeds, Ron Washington submitted a dug test, notified the administrators he would likely fail it, and then proceeded to communicate with each party of interest what was going on. Wash has always been a mastermind on the field, but he showed me that he is one off of it too. This news surely would’ve outraged the media in most scenarios, but Wash has been one step ahead of the game the entire time. He’s an unproven, black manager of a non-contending team. Major League Baseball and/or the owners could have easily made an example of him, but Wash is a guy who earns respect, and I think it’s obvious that all parties involved respected the way he took responsibility for his lapse in judgment. I always suspected Wash of being a closet pothead, but now we know that third base wasn’t the only line he was handling all these years.
Here’s where I think Ron Washington is not just one, but two steps ahead of the game. He’s long been heralded a player’s coach. Guys seem to play harder for Wash – Chappy alluded to it a few months back, how the A’s demise over the last few years may very well be a direct correlation of Washington’s departure. The manager said he used cocaine once last season, and that’s what caused him to fail the test. He ran the risk of alienating himself from the owners and his ballclub. Instead, you see players like Michael Young coming to his defense. But there’s one player in that clubhouse who suddenly can relate to Wash more than anyone. That player also happens to be the team’s best player. Josh Hamilton, as everyone knows, has had his own battles with cocaine. While Washington’s incident is nothing compared to Hamilton’s years of addiction, when Rangers fans think of drug use, they won’t be zeroing in on him anymore. Wash took the heat, for lack of a better word, off of Hamilton – not that there was much, but still. The best player on the team and the manager just got that much closer on a personal level. Any time the best player on the team and the coach are on the same page, it’s a recipe for success on the field. We’ll see how it plays out, but Washington’s blunder off the field may very well be the best move he makes all season in terms of his teams’ performance on it.
Wash loves that whiiiiiiiiiiite girl.....
By
cali4dre
chappy81
dyslecix
mceezy
Doin Work 
March 19th, 2010 at 6:49 am
[…] Here’s where I think Ron Washington is not just one, but two steps ahead of the game. He’s long been heralded a player’s coach. Guys seem to play harder for Wash – Chappy alluded to it a few months back, how the A’s demise over the last …Read More […]
March 19th, 2010 at 7:21 am
chappy 81
While I empathize with Washington’s situation. There’s no way in hell he’s being totally truthful in saying he only tried cocaine once. If he was doing meth-amphetamines and marijuana as a player . He just didn’t pick up using cocaine in his late fifties just like that. Like I said in my original piece there were other incidents that took place and I’ve now been justified in what I’d stated in the piece.
But the biggest joke in this all have been the actions of Nolan Ryan and the Rangers organization .
What’s been the difference between Washington and Josh Hamilton ?
Alan Parkins
March 19th, 2010 at 7:30 am
mceezy
My mistake once again with regard to the piece’s contributor. Accept my humble apology ! What really needs to be done within baseball . It’s for the game’s hierarchy to stand up make itself heard. Bud Selig and Bob DuPuy and the MLBPA have been a complete joke on all drug related issues.
If at all interested this is the piece I’d completed on Washington. Just click on the link to view.
Are You Meant To Kick A Dog When It’s Down ? ………….. Oh The Joy Of Being A Texas Ranger ……….Hypocrisy Has No Limits
Alan Parkins
March 19th, 2010 at 8:44 am
That’s a good point I never really thought about him taking the “heat” off Hamilton. If there’s a guy that can survive controversy, then it’s got to be Wash! He’s seen this happen plenty of times, and being an easy going kind of guy I’m sure that will help him through this.
Al,
I agree that he probably partook more than once, they probably just happened to test him that one time after he used. Personally I’m not against anyone doing drugs, because they are hurting themselves more than anyone. And as far as his admission to doing other drugs as a player, look at all the other guys from his era. It wasn’t a “clean” era. There were tons of guys taking “greenies” to get through the season. His admission to that yesterday on using while he was a player was hardly ground breaking news…
March 19th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
chappy 81
For me the whole thing with drugs begins and ends with the education. If you’re not prepared to educate about its dangers then go ahead and suffer the consequences. But don’t come running and looking for empathy from the public when your life gets derailed. It’s the same with the damn asinine notion that sex education shouldn’t be taught in schools. Celibacy isn’t the only thing that can be taught . It’s about awareness , STD’s and things such as HIV and AIDS and unwanted pregnancies which more often than not leads to abortion. WTF do these people actually want ?
And consider this also ? Were you now aware that both MLB and the NFL are now into the supplements market ? Never mind the fact that many of the licensed products that bears their logos have minuscule contents of HGH and steroids. How friggin’ hypocritical are they ? If you want these stimulants out of the game altogether then why the hell are you now prepared to profit from it commercially ? Goodell and Selig are two of the dumbest SOB’s I’ve ever come across !
They say represent the right side of the issue but yet they seemingly do the exact opposite !
Alan Parkins
March 21st, 2010 at 3:22 pm
Geez, everytime I see blogs this good I just want mine to be there already! 🙂 Great work.
April 6th, 2010 at 8:32 pm
[…] Mceezy: Texas Rangers – They stayed in the hunt for the greater portion of last year, and Wash really went out of his way to bring the team together this offseason. […]