New York Mets Name Buck Showalter Manager
Steve Cohen, owner of the New York Mets, announced Saturday via Twitter that Buck Showalter will become the next manager of the team. Showalter, 65, was considered to be the top target for the job, ousting finalists Joe Espada, a bench coach for the Houston Astros, and Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro.
The Mets will be Buck Showalter’s fifth team in which he occupies the managerial position. Since 1992, he has managed the New York Yankees (1992-1995), Arizona Diamondbacks (1998-2000), Texas Rangers (2003-2006), and Baltimore Orioles (2010-2018). He has won three American League Manager of the Year Awards.
Like each of his previous tenures, he will return to the dugout after a short hiatus. He recently worked as a television analyst for networks, such as ESPN, YES, and MLB Network. With 20 years of manager experience, he holds a 1,551-1,517 regular season record. Showalter has led his teams to five playoff appearances and sports a mediocre 9-14 postseason record.
Showalter is set to replace Luis Rojas, who was let go after only two seasons, leading the Mets to a 103-119 record and no playoff appearances. Rojas is now a member of the Mets’ crosstown rival, the Yankees, as a third base coach.
No details about his contract have been released yet other than that its length is three years, and Buck Showalter hopes to have an easier time as the Mets head coach, considering Rojas was given the job following top candidate Carlos Beltran’s leaked involvement in the Houston Astros cheating scandal and serving for four different general managers and two owners.
Turning the Mets around after a handful of tumultuous seasons is a tough ask, but fan should trust that Showalter’s experience will lead them back to the postseason and, hopefully, a World Series title. He brought the Yankees back to the postseason after a 14-year drought and the Orioles following a 15-year drought. With the Diamondbacks, he made the playoffs in just their second season as an MLB franchise.
The free-agent signings of Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar, and Mark Canha will surely make Buck Showalter’s job easier. They join a roster that already has some serious star power, such as Jacob deGrom, Edwin Diaz, Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, and James McCann.
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