The hope never really went away. Every time the Atlanta Braves had a staff opening, every time a camera cut to the dugout and the energy felt a little different, a familiar name popped back into the mentions: Ron Washington. Not just as a third base coach, not just as an infield guru — just back. In uniform. In that dugout.
Braves fans made no secret of it, Washington wasn’t just a coach, he was part of the heartbeat of that 2021 title run, the living pulse of the loose-but-locked-in identity Atlanta still tries to recapture.
Braves’ staff announcement quietly ends the Ron Washington conversation
But with one press release, the “bring Wash home” movement officially hit a wall.