RON WASHINGTON, former manager of the Los Angeles Angels (Angels photo).

Gonna miss you, Ron.

But not as much as I hoped I would.

As you probably know, Ron Washington has been fired from his job as field manager of the Los Angeles Angels. This is an annual rite for the Halos, “tying the can” to whoever was standing in the dugout with the lineup in his hand after 162 games.

I liked Ron. He seemed to be earnest in seeking to instill a sense of urgency and professionalism in the team, despite last year’s awful 63-99 record and last place finish.

Things looked better for a while in 2025, but, frankly, Ron did not. Decades of smoking – he’s since quit – has taken its toll. The Angels started darn well, and as late as June – when he was sidelined for medical reasons – the team was 36-38 and a half-game out third place in the American League West.

Bench coach and interim manager Ray Montgomery has also been shown the door. For a few weeks, the team improved to 44-44 and grabbed – briefly – third place in the AL West.

But, frankly, that was the high point back in July. As is the tradition – practically a contract requirement – the team began to nose-dive after that. The Angels kept hitting lots of

There are no magic men in sports. Sure, some coaches/managers are more successful than others, but that’s usually because of the harmonic convergence of hard work, a “good fit” with good talent and more than a soupçon of good luck.

That’s why the best baseball teams lose four of 10 games and the best batters fail 70 percent of the time.

The other day I blamed fans – tongue-in-cheek – for the Angels’ lowly position compared to the Dodgers. I now sit here offering no “wisdom” and just intend to keep quiet and “see what happens.” Let’s root for the Angels, but don’t expect too much. We probably expected too much of Ron, too.