Why One Former All-Star Believes Buck Showalter Is A 'Great' Fit To Manage Mets
Talk about a ringing endorsement.
Former five-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove center fielder, Adam Jones shared his input about one of the Mets' top managerial candidates.
This candidate, of course, is Buck Showalter, who managed Jones with the Baltimore Orioles from 2010-2018.
As a source confirmed to Inside the Mets, Showalter is currently high up on the Mets' preliminary list of names, along with Houston Astros bench coach Joe Espada.
And last week, Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post wrote a column that made a case for the Mets to hire Showalter.
That's when Jones chimed in on Twitter, providing his support as to why Showalter would be a great fit in Queens.
"I think this would be great," Jones replied. "I see a lot of the comments. Folks are literally miserable.
"Also folks don’t have any idea of the real impact he can make on a ball club. And I’m not just talking players. The Franchise. He made everyone better and accountable! But someone who won’t read will have the most to say. I hope they get him!!"
During Showalter's tenure in Baltimore, Jones saw great success and the team put together three postseason berths and four winning-seasons throughout this span.
In Showalter's third-year as manager, the Orioles had their first winning season and playoff appearance since 1997.
The Orioles' best season under Showalter came in 2014 when they won the American League East and made it all the way to the ALCS.
The Mets have endured just three winning seasons since 2009. And Showalter has a knack for turning around losing teams, having done so with the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers and Orioles across 20 seasons as a big-league skipper.
Showalter, 65, told The Athletic back in October that if the Mets called about their managerial opening that he'd definitely "listen."
Since leaving the Orioles after the 2018 season, the three-time Manager of the Year Award recipient has been serving as an analyst for MLB Network and YES Network.
Interestingly enough, the Mets recently hired general manager Billy Eppler, who has indirect ties to Showalter. That is because Showalter managed the Yankees from 1992-1995 when Gene "Stick" Michael was GM of the club.
And as it turns out, Michael was one of Eppler's biggest influencers during the 11 seasons he spent in the Yankees' organization.
Back on Nov. 19, Showalter addressed the Eppler hiring on MLB Network and had some pretty interesting things to say about him.
"Billy's engaged and he loves to compete," said Showalter. "And I also think they got a real ethical guy who is going to do the right moral thing as the tiebreaker.
"I've had conversations with Billy in the past but mostly just pure baseball," he said. "But everybody that I respect thinks the world of him."
Eppler spent five seasons as GM of the Los Angeles Angels from 2016-2020. After firing Brad Ausmus following the 2019 season, Eppler wanted to hire Showalter, but was overruled by team owner Arte Moreno who brought in Joe Maddon instead.
Now, Eppler's Mets are in win-now mode after committing $254.5 million to four players in free agency.
Although it didn't wind up happening with the Angels, an Eppler and Showalter marriage now has the potential to come to fruition in Queens.
In addition to Showalter, the Mets' list of managerial candidates includes Espada, three-time World Series-winning manager Bruce Bochy, Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro, Pittsburgh Pirates bench coach Don Kelly, and ex-Mets' standouts David Wright and Curtis Granderson.
Although, Wright and Granderson are not expected to receive interviews, nor are they considered to be serious candidates for the job.
