Braves legend is so good, he’s rejuvenating baseball’s most apathetic man

The Los Angeles Angels look... unexpectedly solid out of the gate? There have been some early-season bumps in the road, for sure, but the Angels are 7-7, only a half-game behind the Texas Rangers for first place in the AL West. Ron Washington has been a noticeable presence in the dugout, motivating his players and preaching accountability as the new manager in LA this season.

That's why you hire a legend. Ron Washington spent eight years as the Rangers' manager from 2007-2014. In the interim, before Los Angeles came calling, Washington was the third base coach for the Atlanta Braves, where he played an integral role in building baseball's most dominant infield.

Last season, all four Braves infielders made the All-Star game. Washington can also point to the development of Dansby Swanson and Freddie Freeman as crowning achievements. Washington clearly understands baseball holistically, but he specializes in the infield. That specialty is already paying dividends for the Angels in a potentially monumental way.

According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, managers and scouts have been thoroughly impressed with the impact Washington has had on Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon, who is notoriously nonchalant about his baseball commitments.

"Angels manager Ron Washington’s impact on third baseman Anthony Rendon has been remarkable, according to scouts and opposing managers. Rendon, who opened the season in an 0-for-21 slump, is not only hitting .357 since ending the skid, but is one of the first players on the field each day to be part of infield drills with Washington."

Washington has quite possibly solved the unsolvable, fixed the unfixable. He has proven that Anthony Rendon does, in fact, care about baseball.

Ron Washington's impact on Anthony Rendon driving Angels success

Now, jokes aside, Rendon never said he doesn't care about baseball. Past comments about putting faith and family ahead of baseball rubbed fans the wrong way, but frankly, any player who doesn't put family first probably has his priorities askew. Baseball is awesome, and generally, players don't refer to it as a "job," like Rendon once did. But, it is... a job. These players are only playing 162 games in quick succession because of the extreme wealth it generates for their families.

That said, Rendon's effort level on the field hasn't always reflected the expectations tied to his massive $245 million contract. Fans want him to play with a bit of fire if he's making that much, but injuries have completely decimated Rendon's career of late. He hasn't appeared in more than 58 regular season games since 2019, his last season with the Washington Nationals. Availability is the best ability, and Rendon has not supplied it.

Now, however, he seems to be back on the right track. At 33 years old, there's no reason to believe Rendon is too far over the hill. If he can return to his prior All-Star form and really commit to staying as healthy and productive as possible, the Angels' outlook post-Shohei Ohtani is suddenly much rosier.

Washington deserves a ton of credit for the job he has done so far. But, we're only 14 games into the season. The Angels have a long way left to go.