Former Expo U.L. Washington dies at 70

March 5, 2024

By Kevin Glew

Cooperstowners in Canada

Former Montreal Expos infielder U.L. Washington passed away on Sunday at the age of 70 after a brave battle with cancer.

Canadian Baseball Network contributor and Montreal Expos book author Danny Gallagher was the first Canadian writer to report Washington’s death.

Best known for having a toothpick in his mouth when he played, Washington batted .249 in 68 games for the Expos in 1985 after being acquired from the Kansas City Royals. It was his first of three stops in Canada during his professional baseball career. He suited up for the triple-A Vancouver Canadians in 1987 and managed the Pittsburgh Pirates’ class-A Short-Season Welland Pirates in 1989.

“So sorry to hear my friend, my teammate UL Washington has died of cancer,” Hall of Famer George Brett tweeted on Monday. “He was a great player. I will always be thankful of our time together with the Royals.”

Growing up in Oklahoma

Born in Stringtown, Okla., in 1953, Washington was one of 11 children in his family. Over the course of his life, he’d be asked repeatedly what the initials in his first name stood for.

“They told me I had an uncle who was called U.L. when he was born,” Washington explained to the Montreal Gazette in January 1985. “They named me U.L. after him. I don’t know why he was called U.L.”

Washington starred for his high school basketball and baseball teams but he was not selected in the MLB draft, so he headed to nearby Murray State College.

Fortunately for him, his older brother, James, had moved to Kansas City and was working as an usher at Royals games. He managed to convince Royals GM Lou Gorman to give his younger brother a tryout. Washington drove to the Royals’ stadium to showcase his skills. The Royals were impressed and signed him on August 4, 1972.

The raw youngster was sent to the Royals Baseball Academy in Sarasota, Fla. to hone his skills. He enjoyed some success early in his tenure in the Royals’ organization but after batting just .238 and striking out 145 times in 128 games with the double-A Omaha Royals in 1975, he knew something needed to change. Until that point, he had strictly batted from the right side, but that year in Instructional League, he learned to bat left-handed and became a switch hitter. That gave him more versatility to go with his speed.

After recording 10 triples and 39 stolen bases for Omaha in 1977, he received his first big league call-up that September.

The following spring, he cracked the Royals’ big league roster. He served primarily as a backup middle infielder over the next two seasons before becoming the club’s starting shortstop in 1980. That proved to be a magical season for the Royals. Propelled by Brett’s flirtation with .400, the Royals captured their first American League pennant.

Washington was one of the team’s most valuable players. He batted .273 with a career-high 150 hits – including 11 triples – and 20 stolen bases.

In the postseason, Washington hit .364 in the Royals’ three-game sweep of the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series and .273 in six games in the World Series which the Royals lost to the Philadelphia Phillies.

The toothpick

With the World Series attracting millions of viewers, Washington gained national renown for his toothpick.

“The toothpick started with a twig of grass when I was in the minors, about A ball,” Washington later explained to Canadian Press. “I think I really got it from my father, who always had a toothpick in his mouth, not playing baseball but just sitting around the table talking.”

Some, however, were concerned that it was unsafe for Washington to bat with a toothpick in his mouth. Calls were even placed to the American League president’s office who deemed it not to be in violation of any safety rules. But by the following spring, Washington said his toothpick days were done.

“Just tired of answering questions about it,” Washington told The Sporting News in March 1981 about getting rid of the toothpick. “I’d change my name, too, if I could, so they’d quit asking me what it stands for.”

But after Washington’s batting average dropped to .227 in 1981, the toothpick was back in 1982.

“If you hit .273 with it and .227 without it, what would you do?” Washington told The Sporting News in the spring of 1982.

It proved to be a good decision. Washington enjoyed his finest big league season in 1982 – batting .286 with 10 home runs and 23 stolen bases in 119 games for the Royals.

Washington followed that up with a career-high 40 stolen bases in 1983, but after enduring multiple injuries in 1984, he was reduced to a back-up role at shortstop behind Onix Concepcion.

Trade to Expos

On January 7, 1985, Washington was dealt to the Expos for minor leaguers Kenny Baker and Mike Kinnunen. It was part of a flurry of moves by Expos GM Murray Cook (Sackville, N.B.) that off-season after a disappointing 1984 campaign.

The Expos said Washington would be a back-up infielder, but Washington told reporters at his introductory press conference that he planned to compete for everyday playing time.

“Montreal has good players at shortstop [Hubie Brooks] and second base [Vance Law]. It will be tough to beat them out. But my aim is to play,” Washington told the Montreal Gazette. “I’ve never wished hurt on anybody but things happen and people can’t play every day. I’ll be ready.”

Not surprisingly, one of the first questions Washington fielded at his Expos press conference was about the toothpick. He told them he was once again done with the toothpick.

“I just thought I had a lot of bad publicity about it. It got blown out of proportion,” said Washington.

So, without his trademark toothpick, Washington reported to Expos camp where he set out to learn to play second and third base.

“I’m still not comfortable at third base,” Washington told the Montreal Gazette early in camp. “At second, I’m comfortable with everything except making the throws [to first base]. It’s a little different throw than from short. I’m not use to throwing over the top quite so much.”

Whatever adjustments he was making in the field that spring, it didn’t impact his hitting. He batted .457 and felt confident at the plate heading north with the Expos.

1985 regular season

He wouldn’t have to wait long to get into the starting lineup. Law suffered a hamstring injury at the end of April that kept him out of action for the first week of May. Washington took over at second base and went 10-for-28 (.370 batting average) in Law’s six-game absence. On May 5, Washington’s batting average was a healthy .350. Once Law healed, however, Washington returned to the bench.

“I’m not a fuss-maker and I never have been,” Washington told the Montreal Gazette about going back to a bench role on May 6. “I don’t make the decisions. When I felt like I still could play in Kansas City, people didn’t care if I got mad or not. When I came here, it was to start. I wanted to win a job. But my main goal is still to help the team win.”

In the early months of 1985, Expos manager Buck Rodgers found creative ways to get Washington’s bat into the lineup. That included sometimes starting Law at first base and inserting Washington at second. It worked well for Washington. He batted .333 in his first 35 games with the Expos.

Unfortunately, Washington suffered a hamstring injury on June 5 that sidelined him for two weeks. He returned briefly before reaggravating the injury which kept him out for another three weeks. When Washington returned, he hit just .127 in the second half and he finished the season with a .249 batting average.

Washington became a free agent following the season and signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He would bat just .200 in 72 games with Pirates in 1986 and he re-signed with the Bucs on a minor league deal in January 1987. He was assigned to triple-A Vancouver where he hit .238 in 74 games before receiving a September call-up. That would prove to be his final taste of big league action.

He concluded his 11-season major league career with a .251 batting average in 907 games.

In 1989, Washington rejoined the Pirates to serve as manager of their class-A Short Season affiliate in Welland, Ont. He led the club to a 32-44 record.

Over the next two decades, Washington evolved into a respected coach in the Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox organizations.

He retired after the 2014 season and settled in Atoka, Okla.

“I’d much rather be remembered as a pretty good player,” Washington once told an Oklahoma reporter, “but I realize most people will remember me as the guy with the toothpick.”