The Los Angeles Angels were up in arms Wednesday after umpires appeared to blow a game-ending call and seal a 6-5 victory for the Baltimore Orioles.

Down one run with two outs in the ninth, Angels base runner Jo Adell attempted to steal second on Orioles closer Craig Kimbrel but was called out. However, Upon further review, it appeared that Adell’s right foot may have touched the base before being tagged near his belt.

“I was in there,” Adell said after the game. That call goes our way. We have [Luis Rengifo] up with a runner on second, and we’re ready to tie the game.”

The Angels challenged the call, leading to a lengthy review to decide the game. In the end, remote MLB officials in the league’s Manhattan office ultimately decided to uphold the original call, citing a lack of clear evidence to overturn it.

Adell was not the only Angels team member to express disbelief after the game, as both manager Ron Washington and Mike Trout said that they believed that the call was wrong. The close loss was especially frustrating because the team was attempting to comeback from an early 6-0 deficit, falling just short.

Escaping the jam, the Orioles earned their second win over the Angels to take the three-game series. The Orioles improved to 16-8 on the season and are now just a half-game behind the Yankees in the AL East. The Angels, on the other hand, are third and falling in the AL West.

After a hot start to the season, Los Angeles has crashed down to a 10-15 record through its first 25 games. Washington’s arrival as manager and some improved offensive play may have provided a temporary boost and nothing more, as the team has won just three of the last 10 games and recently sent Anthony Rendon to the injured list.

At an introductory press conference Wednesday, new Los Angeles Angels manager Ron Washington said that he was prepared at age 71 to take on another rebuilding project. In his first managerial stint in nearly a decade, he said he was eager to take the helm again.

“If you remember now — I was in Texas, and guess what we did? We ran the Angels down,” Washington told a large conference room of media members, team employees and current and former players. “Now I’m in California, with the Anaheim Angels — well, the Los Angeles Angels. I’ll get that in my head. Once we get things together, we get these guys together in spring training and start to work, our whole focus is gonna be to run the West down. And you can take that to the bank and deposit it.”

When Washington accepted the job to become manager of the Rangers in 2007, the team was in the doldrums of the A.L. West. Though he went 75-87 in his first season, his teams improved for five consecutive years and went to the World Series in 2010 and 2011. In eight seasons with the club, he compiled a 664-611 overall record. He later accepted a position as the third base coach of the Atlanta Braves, where he became a fan favorite and won his first World Series ring in 2021.

Next year, Washington will officially take over an Angels team in a similarly dreadful position to the Rangers in those early years. Even with two-way star Shohei Ohtani and perennial MVP candidate Mike Trout on the roster in 2023, the team only went 73-89 and missed the postseason. With Ohtani entering free agency, it is unlikely that he will return.

Trout is also entering the final years of his career, exacerbating the Angels’ need to find a new identity. The team has flown through managers since parting ways with longtime club leader Mike Scioscia in 2018. For now, Washington is simply happy to be receiving another opportunity. The hard work will come later.

“The belief never wavered,” Washington said when asked if he thought he would ever become a manager again. “You never know when you’re gonna get an opportunity to lead, to be a manager. You never know that. Even though I left Texas the way it happened, I still had a lot to give. I still was able to make a difference. So what I did was kept myself relevant. I kept making a difference wherever I was.”

Longtime MLB coach Ron Washington will be the next manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Washington has not managed a team since 2014 and will become the oldest manager in the league at the age of 71.

Since stepping down as the manager of the Texas Rangers nine years ago to deal with personal issues, Washington has worked as a third base coach for the Oakland Athletics and Atlanta Braves. During his time in Atlanta from 2016 to 2023, he became well known for his aggressive style and blunt quotes, becoming popular with fans.

“He’s everything you could want, he deserves the opportunity,” Braves president of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos said Wednesday. “He’s excited. Obviously, I’m excited for him. It’s a huge loss for us. I emphasize that in caps, bold, italicized, all of it. Huge void. But I had six years with him, and I can’t imagine I’ll be around a guy like that in my entire career.”

After a playing career in MLB from 1977 to 1989, Washington accepted his only other managing position with the Rangers in 2007. He is often credited with leading the team through a massive rebuilding phase and compiled a 664-611 record in eight seasons. The Rangers went to the World Series in back-to-back years during his tenure but lost both times. Washington received his first ring in 2021 as a member of the Braves.

Washington will begin his second managerial stint in a similar position to his first, as the Angels are expected to struggle in 2024 with star two-way player Shohei Ohtani departing for free agency. The team underperformed last season, figuring as a favorite to win the World Series before finishing 73-89, far out of the playoff race. Los Angeles has struggled to replace Mike Scioscia, manager from 2000 to 2018, and is now on its fourth manager since he retired.