It represents his first managerial opportunity since 2014.

After leading the Texas Rangers from 2007 to 2014 and taking them to two World Series in 2010 and 2011, he found a coaching gig with the Oakland Athletics from 2015-16.

Then, in 2017, he started writing his own story as a coach for the Braves.

There, in Atlanta, he met a young kid named Ozzie Albies.

Albies made his MLB debut that year and posted a .810 OPS in 57 games.

Washington saw potential in Albies and took him under his wing.

Now, after learning that his coach and friend will be taking a managerial opportunity in LA, Albies went to Instagram to send a heartfelt message to him.

He credits Washington for helping him becoming the player he is today, one with 33-homer power (that was his final tally in 2023), speed, good defense, and a knack for scoring and driving in runs.

Albies thanked Washington for always being there for him and for the support he provided over the years.

Together they won a World Series in 2021, and Washington’s coaching helped Albies secure a long-term contract to provide stability to his family.

One of them is a star player on the league’s most exciting team, and one will be getting an opportunity to manage an MLB team at 71 years old.

Both, however, are winners in life, and true friends saying goodbye for now.

Ronald Acuna Jr., for example, hit .337 with 41 home runs and 73 stolen bases in the 2023 campaign.

In the playoffs, he slumped to a .143/.294/.214 line with a .508 OPS, no home runs, and two steals.

The Braves scored just eight runs in four games against the Phillies: no team will get too far with an average of two runs per game.

Acuna didn’t want to talk with the press after the Braves’ elimination, per team insider Mark Bowman.

“Ronald Acuña Jr. didn’t speak after the game. He grabbed his bag and said ‘I have to go to the bus’ as other players remained in the clubhouse,” he tweeted.

With time and experience, he will learn that accountability is an important part of the job.

Nobody is perfect.

Nobody will win a World Series every year.

It’s important to be graceful in victory, and accountable when things don’t go your way.

Acuna has all the talent in the world and will likely win the NL MVP award this year after his brilliant performance.

One can understand he is frustrated because his team couldn’t reach the ultimate objective, but he should follow the example of Braves players that took questions from the press and gave their own version of what happened in the series against the Phillies.