This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

This is a story I’ve told before. But it’s also the one that exemplifies the selfless dedication Ron Washington brought to the park as he spent the past seven seasons making the Braves and everyone around him better.

It was the final day of the 2017 season. The assumption was Brian Snitker would be dismissed within the next couple of days and Washington would become the Braves' manager. That was what John Coppolella and John Hart had planned before their days running Atlanta’s baseball operations department abruptly ended courtesy of international market infractions.

As the Braves prepped to close the season at Marlins Park, I walked behind Washington and said, “What do you think will happen?” Without hesitating, he pointed to Snitker and said, “That man deserves the job.”

Snitker has since guided the Braves to a World Series championship and six consecutive National League East titles. He has benefited from a cohesive, intelligent and hard-working coaching staff that is going to be missing a significant piece next year.

After spending the past seven years as the Braves' third-base coach, Washington was named as the Angels' manager. He accepted the job Wednesday, just before Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos talked to reporters at the General Managers Meetings.

"He's everything you can want,” Anthopoulos said. “He deserves the opportunity. ... It's a huge loss for us. And I emphasize that in caps, bold, italicize it, whatever. I can't imagine I'll be around another guy like that in my entire career."

Washington was the Rangers' manager when they made consecutive trips to the World Series in 2010 and '11. A couple off-the-field issues forced him to resign near the end of the '14 season. But he righted himself and spent this past decade enriching the baseball world with the incredible passion he brought as a coach.  

Some of those early mornings at Spring Training, when the fog was still lifting, Washington would be on a back field waiting for Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson and the other infielders to arrive for a sunrise workout. He dedicated his time to proven All-Stars and projects like Vaughn Grissom. The prevailing thought was Grissom wasn’t a shortstop. But that didn’t stop Washington from spending three weeks trying to make him into one last winter.  

Luke Williams played in seven games and got nine plate appearances for the Braves this year. Still, almost every afternoon you could find Washington doing extra infield work with the utility man. 

I never thought I’d see a coach outwork former Braves first-base coach Glenn Hubbard. Washington proved he could challenge Hubbard’s diligence.

“I mean, that guy walks in a room, it's over,” Anthopoulos said. “He's got it. He's special. I've been in baseball in since 2000. I've never been around someone like this before. I think anyone that's worked with him or played on teams with him will tell you the same thing.”

The Braves are going to miss the energy and laughter Washington brought to the park every day. Over the next few days, we may hear of some potential replacements.

As I brainstormed, I thought of Ryan Flaherty or Troy Snitker as potential candidates. Flaherty seems to be a year or two away from being a strong managerial candidate. Snitker, of course, would be working alongside his father. But this isn’t nepotism. The Brewers interviewed him for their managerial vacancy, and Astros players absolutely love what he’s done as their hitting coach.

Could recently dismissed Cubs manager David Ross be an option? Maybe. Could the Braves go with Terry Pendleton or Eddie Perez. Maybe. Or Anthopoulos may just surprise us with another candidate.

Regardless of who gets the nod, there will always be just one Wash.