Remembering the life of UL Washington

Stringtown, Oklahoma, population 410, sits in the southeast corner of the state. For a small village, it has produced some interesting people, most notably country music superstar Reba McEntire and lead singer and guitarist Jerry Cantrell of the rock band, Alice in Chains. Stringtown also produced one UL Washington. That’s UL with no periods and it’s not an abbreviation for anything. Just UL. Washington’s brother was an usher for the Royals and convinced Lou Gorman to give his younger brother a look. Gorman gave him a tryout and the Royals signed Washington as a free agent in 1972 then assigned him to their Baseball Academy. You can find baseball players everywhere.

When Washington made his professional debut on September 6, 1977, he became just the third graduate of the Academy to reach the majors, following his infield mate Frank White and Ron Washington (no relation).

For my generation, UL will always be remembered as the heir to Freddie Patek. Large shoes to fill. When Washington became the starter, he and White formed the first all-black double-play combo in American League history.

Washington collected his first hit on September 16, 1977, in a game against Seattle at Royals Stadium. The game was the first loss after a club-record 16 consecutive wins during that magical summer. No matter, the Royals promptly started another streak, this one of eight in a row. 24 out of 25? We can live with that.

Washington collected two hits that day, the first being a fourth inning double off Doc Medich. He followed that up with a fifth-inning single off Medich.

The Royals chose not to resign Patek after the 1979 season and the job became Washington’s. I remember the game where I thought the torch had been passed, from Patek to Washington. It was a Saturday game at Royals Stadium, and the game was carried on NBC as the Game of the Week. Back in those days, the Game of the Week was a big event. My memory fails me, and I couldn’t find the box score, but I believe the year was either 1978 or 1979 and the opponent was Boston. The game was tied going into the bottom of the ninth and the Royals had a player in scoring position. Washington came to the plate with two outs and worked the count until he got his pitch. He then sliced a beautiful line drive over the head of the shortstop to give Kansas City the win. I remember thinking, the kid will be okay.

During his Royal career, he played a pivotal role in two of George Brett’s career-defining home runs. The first came in Game Three of the 1980 ALCS. The Royals entered the top of the seventh inning down 2-to-1 and needing a win to sweep the hated Yankees. With two outs, Willie Wilson slashed a double off Tommy John. The Yankees countered by bringing in Goose Gossage to face UL. Washington battled before reaching on an infield single, bringing George to the plate.

Every Royals fan knows what happened next. Brett smashed a high fastball into the upper deck in right field to give the Royals a 4-to-2 lead effectively ending the game and series. There have been other big moments in the history of the Royals, Alex Gordon’s home run and Eric Hosmer’s mad dash home, both in the 2015 World Series come to mind, but Brett’s home run was nothing short of cathartic deliverance. The Yanks had sent the Royals home in three straight ALCS series and Brett vanquished that with one majestic swing of the bat, then took his sweet time rounding the bases, the better to let the Yankees and Gossage know who their daddy was. UL Washington made that possible. With the passage of time, it’s easy to forget how solid Gossage was. He was a big man who never smiled and had that intimidating Fu Manchu mustache. Plus, he routinely threw about 100 mph. Washington did a professional job of hitting to reach base.

The second big moment was July 24, 1983, once again at Yankee Stadium. Top of the ninth, Royals down 4-3. There was nothing on the line except pride that muggy afternoon. The Royals came into the game at 44-45 while New York entered at 52-40. Didn’t matter. The two teams still hated each other. With two outs, Washington slapped a single to center off Yankee reliever Dale Murray. This brought Brett to the plate and Gossage in from the bullpen, one more time. Brett vs. Gossage was like Frazier and Ali. Mano a mano. You’ve seen the video, Brett blasting a letter-high fastball 15 rows deep. Washington’s hit kept the inning alive and made that moment possible too.

Washington’s best year with the Royals, and the best season of his career, came in 1982. He appeared in 119 games with a slash of .286/.338/.412 and posted career highs in doubles, home runs, RBI, and OPS+.

When it was all said and done, he played for eight seasons in Kansas City, over 757 games and he made it cool to have a toothpick in your mouth. Yes, you can’t think of UL Washington and not think of the toothpick. Players have long chewed tobacco and gum, and munched on sunflower seeds but Washington was the first and to my knowledge, the only player to take the diamond with a toothpick in the corner of his mouth. He singlehandedly made the toothpick a cool accessory.

As his career wound down, the Royals traded him to Montreal after the 1984 season. In Montreal, he was reunited with former teammate Jim Wohlford and played alongside future managers Terry Francona and a guy named Ned Yost. Another teammate was Sal Butera, father of future Royal Drew. Funny thing how baseball is such an interconnected community. He became a free agent after the ’85 season and signed with Pittsburgh, spending the last two seasons of his career with the Pirates.

After his playing career ended, Washington coached for several seasons with the Royals, Dodgers, Twins, and Red Sox organizations and his instruction helped turn Mookie Betts into a superstar.

UL Washington died in Atoka, Oklahoma on March 3, succumbing to that scrouge we call cancer at the young age of 70. We at Royals Review give the Washington family our sincerest condolences.