Fixing the bumbling Oakland A’s defense: “It’s incredibly hard.”
Ron Washington is joining the A’s — make that re-joining — as a coach for their struggling fielders, according to CBS Sports, a role that evokes his character’s memorable bit in the movie version of “Moneyball.”
Washington worked as an A’s infield coach from 1996 to 2006, tutoring the slick-fielding likes of Eric Chavez as well as ill-suited leather men such as Scott Hatteberg, before beginning an eight-season stint as manager of the Texas Rangers.
Washington, who directed the Rangers to back-to-back AL pennants in 2010 and 2011, stepped down last September under mysterious circumstances. He cited having cheated on his wife, while many suspected there was more to the tale.