Ron Washington took a page out of the characterized version of himself from the 2011 film “Moneyball” when asked about how difficult it would be to revive the Angels’ sputtering offense.
“It’s hard,” the Angels manager said Friday. “It’s very hard.”
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His response probably sounds familiar to “Moneyball” fans. In the film, the version of Washington, played by actor Brett Jennings, visits Scott Hatteberg — portrayed by Chris Pratt — at his home. Billy Beane — played by Brad Pitt — and Washington try to sell Hatteberg, a free-agent catcher, on playing first base.
“You don’t know how to play first base,” Beane says.
“That’s right,” Hatteberg replies.
“It’s not that hard, Scott. Tell em, Wash,” Beane quips.
“It’s incredibly hard,” Washington responds.
Read more: Angels can’t pull off sweep, striking out 18 times in loss to Mariners
Finding ways to improve the Angels’ productivity at the plate could prove even more daunting. They have the second-most strikeouts (622) and second-fewest walks (163) in MLB. Washington understands it’s a problem, but acknowledges the solution isn’t easily attainable.
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“Adjustments is something in the game of baseball that’s never ending, so we just got to keep making adjustments,” Washington said. “That’s it. If I knew, if anybody knew the adjustment to make to get an offense going, you would never see offense putter. That’s baseball. You just got to keep adjusting, readjusting, adjusting, readjusting, adjusting, readjusting, adjusting, readjusting.”
The Angels held the third-worst batting average (.229) and fourth-worst on-base percentage (.301) in MLB a year ago. Three months into the 2025 season, they’ve regressed. The team’s batting average stands at .225 heading into Monday and the team’s on-base percentage is considerably lower over last year at .287.
During the Angels’ eight-game winning streak in May, it seemed as if hitting coach Johnny Washington — in his second year with the team — discovered something to help the offense click. They tallied a .291 batting average and averaged almost eight runs a game.
The Angels then lost five consecutive games and entered Monday having lost nine of their last 14.
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“I think it’s come down to guys just continuing the process with trying to simplify guys’ approaches, keeping it with their strengths, giving these guys the best chance to succeed versus a given pitcher, and continue the game…