Earlier today the owner of the New York Mets, Steve Cohen, announced himself on Twitter that they managerial search for the Flushing-based team has concluded with the hiring of former Yankees manager Buck Showalter.
Tweets and Thoughts Inside:
Tweets:
I’m pleased to announce Buck Showalter as the new manager of the New York Mets — Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) December 18, 2021
Buck Showalter has 3 year deal to manage Mets — Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 18, 2021
Showalter’s 3-year deal has no option #Mets — Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) December 18, 2021
My Thoughts:
We- as a baseball audience with no real news to follow since the MLB owners voted on a lockout against the players- were aware that the New York Mets were in the middle of a search for a new general manager (hiring former Yankee executive and Los Angeles Angles GM Billy Eppler) and a new manager. Today, that search is now over.
The candidate pool happened to come down to three people: former Yankees manager and recent YES Network personality Buck Showalter, former Yankees third base coach and current Houston Astros bench coach Joe Espada, and Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro. It is interesting just how often coaches like move around over the course of a career as combined the three of these men have worked or played for 11 of the 30 MLB franchises. All that being said, this pool has finished its inspection and one name stood out amongst the rest:
Buck Showalter is going to be a manager again.
Now, Buck Showalter is a great pick for manager of the New York Mets. He is a 3-time Manager of the Year (1994, 2004, 2014…so he’s set to win it again in 2024), has managed with 4 different franchises (Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, and Baltimore Orioles), and he has been involved within baseball since 1976. Needless to say, he comes with years of experience across many different eras of baseball and types of cultures within teams and clubhouses.
Buck Showalter also already knows- and was a small part of- the New York media. It’s a large obstacle for somebody to take on, and his being a member of the YES Network in the last few years is a nice extra addition to the resume. In my listening to sports radio, and reading various online/print newspapers over the past few weeks, it was also clear that Buck Showalter was the favorite by baseball media to get the job.
This does not come as a surprise. In his 3069 games as a major league manager, his teams have played to a 1551-1517 record (.507 winning percentage) and they have made one Championship Series (Baltimore, 2014), three Division Series (Yankees, 1995; Diamondbacks, 1999; and Orioles, 2012) and a Wild Card (Orioles, 2016). Though, he has yet to reach (or win) the pinnacle of baseball: The World Series.
The Mets have a promising team with a good amount of superstars: Jacob DeGrom, Max Scherzer, Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, and Brandon Nimmo to name a few. The Mets have an owner in Steve Cohen who is willing to put his money where his mouth is and bring in top talent in order to win. To him, the New York Mets are a side-hustle in which he can play and have fun with in order to bring home a championship to his favorite boyhood team.
Congrats to Buck Showalter. Welcome back to New York.
