Up on the blog today we have a "not so missing" 1978 card for former infielder turned manager Ron Washington, who made his major League debut during the 1977 with the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers:
Washington played in 10 games
that season, finally making it to the "big show" after toiling in the
Minors since 1971, and did very well, hitting a scorching .368 with
seven hits over 19 at-bats.
Sadly though, he would spend the
next three-plus seasons back in the Minors before appearing in 28 games
for the Minnesota Twins in 1981.
He would play the next eight
years in the Majors, with Minnesota through 1986 before moving on to the
Baltimore Orioles in 1987, the Cleveland Indians in 1988 and finally
the Houston Astros for seven games in 1989.
Never a full-time
player, he played in a total of 564 games over his 10-year career,
hitting .261 with 414 hits in 1586 at-bats, only once appearing in over
100 games (119 in 1982).
Post-playing career he would turn to
coaching, then managing, guiding the Texas Rangers between 2007 and
2014, including two straight World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011,
as well as four straight 90+ wins seasons between 2010-2013.
