Ron Washington's decision to resign as manager of the Texas Rangers on Friday came as a surprise to many people in and out of the organization. But with the details still unclear as to why he stepped down, is it possible his resignation is drug-related?
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Washington, who tested positive for cocaine in 2009, and Rangers general manager Jon Daniels quickly made it clear that his decision had nothing to do with drug addiction or anything of the sort.
"We don't want to talk about any of the specifics," Daniels said. "Ron's given us permission to acknowledge this was not drug-related."
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Bench coach Tim Bogar will serve as interim manager for the remainder of the season. Washington cited a personal matter as his reason for stepping down.
"Today, I have submitted my resignation from the job I love -- managing the Rangers -- in order to devote my full attention to addressing an off-the-field personal matter," Washington said in a statement. "As painful as it is, stepping away from the game is what's best for me and my family."
The Rangers currently have the worst record in the MLB at 53-89 and are currently on an eight-game losing streak. Texas has struggled with injuries throughout the season and had to use 40 pitchers and 63 players, both major league records for a single season. Washington said his resignation was not because of the team's poor performance this season.
"This is in no way related to the disappointing performance of the team this season," he said in the statement. "We were already discussing 2015 and looking forward to getting the Rangers back to postseason contention."
Washington had a 664-611 record in eight seasons as manager of the Rangers and is the franchise's leader in regular-season wins and games managed. He led Texas to its first two World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011. He sent USA Today a text message that said, "I'll be back! Need some time!"
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