Ron Washington Sends Fierce Message to Opponents Throwing Up and In Against Angels

Jason Fray | Apr 1, 2024

Outfielder Taylor Ward endured an injury no baseball player wants to encounter.

Last July, Ward was hit in the face by a 91-mph fastball courtesy of Alek Manoah. He promptly left the game and was sidelined for the remainder of the regular season.

Coming back during Spring Training this year, Ward reportedly had not seen live pitching in six months. A mental hurdle surely has to come into play when dealing with such a traumatic injury. Ward is wearing an added layer of protection on his helmet compared to a year ago. Whether this is driven by practicality or mentality is up for debate. 

There’s also the question as to how Ward will react when opposing pitchers try and challenge with inside pitches. Manager Ron Washington spoke about the subject and he was not shy in vocalizing his thoughts on the matter with reporters.

“I don’t think we have enough pitchers in the game that can control up and in. They don’t have any business going up and in there," Washington said.

This could be a case of Washington publicly backing his player should Ward start slow, or even still deal with the aftermath of being hit in the face. At the same time, Washington went a step further with his stance. He directed this to all opponents the Angels will face this season.

“They better not be doing that, because that will send a signal that we’re going to do it to them. Let them see how it feels. If a pitch gets away and gets up and in, fine. If you try to throw the ball in, not up and in, that’s different. You come in the chest area, that’s good. But when you go up at the head, that’s up. He’s done nothing to no one to go up and in.”

Washington is as old school as you can get. He’s spent decades in the sport and comes from an era where ‘retaliation’ with heaters at the head was the norm. That definition of "justice" has lessened in the current era. Umpires appear more aggressive in throwing players out when they sniff the possibility of a back-and-forth occurring.

With that said, Washington is sending a signal that he’ll protect his players no matter the circumstance.