Major League Baseball put out a Press Release this afternoon announcing the league has suspended Texas Rangers’ manager Ron Washington five games
for attempting to snort the third-base line after a Rangers’ loss last night.
“It was very...troubling to watch,” said Joe Torre, Executive
Vice President of Baseball Operation for the league. “We all just hope Ron gets the help he needs
to get past this.”
Ron Washington has been managing the Rangers since the 2007
season, leading them to back-to-back World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011.
However, his problems with drugs have been well documented. In 2009, he tested
positive for cocaine. Despite being 57 years old, having lived through the 70s and 80s, Washington claimed it was the first time he had ever experimented with the
drug.
“I didn’t even know what it was to be quite honest with
you,” said Ron Washington in an interview back in 2010. “I just saw something
sitting on top of Josh Hamilton's locker and I went to go smell it.
Next thing I knew, I was doing all out sprints with the team until our trainers asked me
to return to the dugout.”
This past April, Fox Sports television cameras caught Ron
Washington smoking what appeared to be a cigarette in the dugout during a
Rangers’ broadcast. Major League
Baseball let Washington off with a slap on the wrist, but warned him that the
next incident would spell trouble.
“I’m very disappointed in Ron,” said MLB Commissioner Bud
Selig. “This isn't Shea Stadium in 1986 we're talking about. We have rules now, and
I expect Ron to be able to follow them.
Rangers’ second baseman Ian Kinsler thinks the time off will
be good for his coach to clear his head. Kinsler said that he believed Washington could bounce back from this. “I remember when I took Josh [Hamilton] out to the bar and knocked
him off the wagon. I felt bad, but he wound up getting a monster contract this
off-season, so who really lost that deal? It just shows that no matter how many drugs you do, people can still forgive you. It's great, really.”
Washington knows the team will be just fine in his absence. The six-year skipper reportedly called a team meeting this morning to apologize. “I
just wanted them to know that they shouldn't snort chalk,” said Washington.
“Not only did it give me a bloody nose, but I woke up this morning with the
worst headache I’ve had in years. I’d hate to see any of my players go through
that.”
The Rangers’ manager said he will be appealing the
suspension, and plans to ask Major League Baseball to reduce the penalty. “It’s not
like I did anything illegal, right?” Washington yelled. “I mean, where in the rulebook does
it say that you can’t be curious what the foul line smells like?”
The Commissioner’s office is reviewing the case and will
make a final decision sometime this week.
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