It's a Wash

Ron Washington signed a new two year deal to skipper the Texas Rangers through the 2012 season. I thought this would be a good time to have a little Washington throwdown. We'll do a few comparisons and see whether George or Ron comes out on top.

First up, let's go with best card.

Here is a 2009 Topps American Heritage George Washington. A very nice card, even if George does have rosy cheeks. I'm particularly impressed with his title as General of the Armies of the United States.

I know Ron has a number of nice cards from his playing days, but we're focusing on his days as the Rangers mangaer. This is his 2009 Topps card. It's not bad and I actually like the photo.

Edge: George

The second category is honesty.

Little George demonstrated his honesty when confronted about a chopped cherry tree. I cannot tell a lie was his reply. Unfortunately, this story has never been confirmed as true.

Ron came clean about his use of cocaine (after being tested) early last season. We'll give him the benefit of the doubt and the continued hope that it never happens again.

Edge: Ron

The third caterogry is mercy.

George didn't give the Redcoats any mercy during the Revolutionary War.

Ron was at the mercy of Jon Daniels and Nolan Ryan after the cocaine issue. They stuck by him and he has proven to be quite a manager.

Edge: George

The fourth category is firsts.

George was a unanimous selection as the first President of the United States. That's very cool.



Ron took the Texas Rangers to their first World Series. Ever. That's even cooler.


Edge: Ron

The fifth category is money

George is on the dollar and Ron just inked a new two year contract for lots of dollars.

Edge: George...hey, he's ON the dollar.

The sixth category is "kids".

Historians think George was sterile and he didn't have any children of his own.



Ron has "Little Ron". Ok, he's not Ron's child, but he couldn't deny him. I thought it was funny that the Rangers, at their thank you rally Wedneday, introduced Ron Washington and out runs "Little Ron".

Edge: Ron

Lastly, the category of stamps. This is the tiebreaker since its all even after six categories.

George has been on a number of stamps issued by the USPS. That's pretty cool if you ask me.




Ron put his "stamp" on the Rangers. They became a running team. The led the A.L. in sac bunts with 53. They also paced the majors in going from first to third on singles, doing it 122 times. That's 22 times more any other team in the majors. Throw in over 120 steals and striking out less than 1000 times for the first time since 2000 and you've got a Ron Washington team.

Edge: Ron

There you have it. In the Wash vs. Wash comparison, we have Ron winning 4-3.

Congrats Ron and here's hoping you win the A.L Manager manager of the year award!