New York Mets hire veteran Buck Showalter as new manager, owner Steve Cohen tweets
On one side, you have a veteran manager with 20 years of experience on his résumé, someone who has won tons of games and experienced many memorable moments but has never won a World Series.
On the other, you have an owner and a team who want to win now, who are desperately aiming to once again end up on top of the baseball world.
They are joining forces.
Buck Showalter is the New York Mets' new manager, owner Steve Cohen tweeted. Showalter, a three-time Manager of the Year, replaces Luis Rojas.
The 65-year-old Showalter beat out Astros bench coach Joe Espada and Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro for the job. He's the Mets' fourth manager in the last two-plus calendar years.
Showalter has managed for the Yankees (four seasons), Diamondbacks (three seasons), Rangers (four seasons) and Orioles (nine seasons). He's 1,551-1,517 as a MLB manager, but has never won a championship.
The anomaly here: The Yankees won a World Series in 1996, the season after Showalter left. The Diamondbacks won one in 2001, the year after Showalter departed. He's helped teams reach the point where they could contend, but has never shared in that success at the sport's pinnacle.
And now, he has another opportunity to win the elusive ring.
The Mets, on the other hand, made another win-now move.
When Cohen spoke during general manager Billy Eppler's introductory video conference in November, he vowed to listen to his baseball operations team and shell out the money for the right players on the right deals. Around a week later, the Mets signed Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha. Days after, they signed Max Scherzer.
They are overhauling their roster, and needed someone to lead them into contention. Showalter, whose managerial experience ranges from 1992 to 2018, could be the one to help them over the hump.
Showalter could help the Mets inside and outside the dugout. He knows the New York market and could help this Mets roster calm the waters after a 2021 season that saw players slip into a couple silly situations.
Can Showalter, who is in his 60s, still gain respect from players of this era? Will he be collaborative in an organization that now prioritizes analytics more than ever before? We won't know these answers until months — or years — from now, but this hire seemed somewhat likely.
The Mets are coming off hiring Mickey Callaway, Carlos Beltrán and Luis Rojas for the manager job. None had MLB managing experience before taking over. None lasted more than two seasons.
This time around, the Mets perhaps needed stability, especially with their contention window. Jacob deGrom is under contract for at least one more season, as is Brandon Nimmo. Francisco Lindor just signed a long-term deal and Pete Alonso is under team control for a few more years.
On paper, the Mets have the pieces to take a leap this season.
But as we've seen the last two seasons, "on paper" doesn't mean much when the season begins and other factors come into play.
Along with Showalter, Quatraro and Espada, the Mets reportedly interviewed former Angels and Tigers manager Brad Ausmus and Dodgers bench coach Bob Geren.
The job opened when the Mets opted not to exercise the option for 2022 on Rojas' contract. Rojas landed with the Yankees as the third base coach on manager Aaron Boone's staff.
The Mets knew they would need a manager since Oct. 4, when they officially announced they would not be retaining Rojas. However, this specific priority came after the main one: Hiring an executive to lead baseball operations.
Once the Mets brought on Eppler as their general manager, their focus shifted toward finding a manager. And days after MLB implemented the lockout, they began interviews for the position.
From the beginning, Showalter seemed to be a popular pick, though Quatraro and Espada were also good candidates.
The Mets are entering a new era. They feel they have the financial muscle to field a contender, and Cohen has proven as much in recent weeks. Still, putting the pieces together doesn't mean that team will reach the top. It needed a leader, someone who had the experience and knowledge to help now.
The Mets haven't ended the season with a dogpile since 1986. They've had promising seasons and talented teams since then, but none has been the final club standing.
In two decades of managing, Showalter has probably seen and heard it all. He's gone through the highs and lows of the job. Had he never managed again, the game would still view him as successful.
Still, he's missing something: A World Series ring.
And now, he and the Mets — both starving for a championship — are coming together in hopes of achieving that goal.