Growing up, Ron Washington did not need a cell phone, mostly because they did not exist. As a child of the 1990s myself, I do remember a time where you could just live your best life without being connected to the world by way of the internet on your phone. The older I get, the more I think that was not necessarily a bad thing. I need the internet to do my job, but I can do without distractions.
And that is exactly what Washington is trying to implement this season with his constantly moribund baseball franchise. The Los Angeles Angels have not made the postseason in a decade. Mike Trout has played a grand total of one postseason series in an Angels uniform. Despite having two of the best players of their generations in their primes in Trout and Shohei Ohtani, they rarely ever won...
See, Washington is instituting a new role that will prohibit players on the 2025 Angels from being on their cell phones at the lockers. This will allow greater communication between the Angels players. Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com said Trout and Zach Neto think it is great and is working out well so far. The other alternative is to stare into nothingness like David Puddy once did on his airplane flight.
The fact the soft-spoken Trout is in favor of this means he just might play in the postseason again!
The #Angels instituted a new rule this season with players not allowed to be on their cell phones at their lockers. Ron Washington said he did it so the players would interact with each other more and bond. Mike Trout and Zach Neto both said it's worked out great so far.
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) March 19, 2025
This is how you develop personalities, stop being so milquetoast, and start winning some ballgames!
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Ron Washington has as much use for cellphones as Ron Swanson ever did
Once again, this is another reason why the Atlanta Braves were so lucky to have Washington as their beloved third base coach for as long as they did. Washington was a tremendous manager for the Texas Rangers back in the day, but life got in the way of that. He may be in his 70s, but he is every bit the baseball lifer. It is amazing how much you can learn when you put down the phone and just talk.
The clubhouse is a very special place. It is a place where players can let loose from the day-to-day grind of being a professional, as well as have serious conversations about whatnot. I remember seeing a clip of Philadelphia Phillies legend John Kruk talking about how tight-knit the 1993 team was. Everyone was hanging out after the game, talking shop and talking about their love of baseball.
For years now, the Angels have been a franchise that have lacked any real substantive value to them. As boring as Trout's personality, this team has mailed it in more than Anthony Rendon. The Angels need to flip a folding table like they did when angels were indeed in the outfield. George Knox may be too old for it, but Washington is more youthful in spirit than Joseph Gordon-Levitt flapping his arms.
Believe it or not, they are always watching. Can we go back to the future from 1993 with our guy Al?