The New York Mets have hired Buck Showalter as their new manager. The former AL manager of the year has a career 1551-1517 record with the Diamondbacks, Yankees, Rangers, and Orioles since he broke into the major league coaching ranks in 1992.
Mets owner Steve Cohen made the announcement on Twitter earlier today:
New York relieved former manager Luis Rojas of his duties after the team faltered down the stretch and ultimately missed the playoffs. There was speculation that Tampa Bay’s Matt Quatraro and Houston’s Joe Espada were in the mix for the position, and even murmurs that former Met Carlos Beltran might also be interested in the vacancy. However, New York elected to go with experience, bringing in Showalter’s 3000+ games as a bench boss to revitalize their roster.
While Showalter has never won a World Series in his 2+ decades in the league, he’s widely viewed as a no-nonsense manager who has strong leadership skills in baseball circles. Cohen and company are clearly banking on his ability to get an Orioles squad, with a limited payroll, into the postseason multiple times as proof that he can do the same for the free spending Mets.
Newly signed pitcher Max Scherzer was reportedly amongst the veteran players lobbying for Showalter to get the manager job in New York. Joel Sherman of the New York post indicated that Showalter signed a 3 year deal with the club, however financial details of the contract have yet to be released.
A press conference to formally introduce Showalter will be scheduled for later this week.