Ron Washington is ready to take his team back to the Stone Age … at least in the locker room.
Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic reported on Wednesday that the Los Angeles Angels manager Washington has implemented a no-cell-phones policy in the clubhouse for the 2025 season. Washington said he hopes that the policy will allow his team to focus more on baseball.
“It is not punishment,” Washington was quoted as saying. “I just want some focus.
“That clubhouse is for the veterans on this team to run it the way they want to run it,” said Washington. “We just dropped what we would like to have happen [with cellphones] and we want them to make certain it happens inside the clubhouse … “ I fit in too. If I’m outside [my office] in the clubhouse on the phone, I want them to ring my butt up, too.”
Washington noted that Angels veterans Mike Trout and Kyle Hendricks will be in charge of enforcing the rule. While Washington suggested a $500 fine for a violation, he said that he is leaving the exact amount up to Trout and Hendricks. Ghiroli also notes that Washington implemented a similar no-cell-phones policy back when he was managing the Texas Rangers from 2007-14, which came with a $500 fine for every violation.
The 72-year-old Washington took over as Angels manager before the 2024 season but has failed to achieve success so far as the team went 63-99 last season and missed the playoffs for a tenth straight year. Now Washington is hoping that some culture changes can get his team on track in 2025.
Cell phones are arguably much more prevalent in everyday life than they were when Washington managed the Rangers over a decade ago. But there is some precedent when it comes to the success of these kinds of policies. In the NBA, a head coach implemented a similar old-school rule before this season and has since transformed his team from a laughingstock into a legitimate playoff contender.
