Ex-Yankees Manager Seen As 'Favorite' To Land Mets' Job
The buzz has been deafening throughout the industry regarding one ex-Yankees’ manager and the crosstown rival Mets being a match made in heaven.
And this individual is none other than current YES Network and MLB Network analyst, Buck Showalter, who is seen as the favorite to land the Mets’ managerial job. Showalter interviewed with the Mets on Wednesday and it was said to have gone “well,” per SNY.
Showalter, 65, managed the Yankees from 1992-1995 and ended their 14-year playoff drought with a wild card berth in his final season. However, he was fired after ’95 in favor of Joe Torre who led the Yankees to their first title since 1978 in the following season.
Alas, Showalter’s hands were all over the Yankees’ 1996 World Series Championship team, despite being let go prior to this campaign. And after winning the World Series in ‘96, Torres’ Yankees went onto complete a three-peat from 1998-2000.
Showalter was selected by the Yankees in the fifth-round of the 1977 MLB Draft. He then spent seven seasons playing in their minor league system, before getting hired to manage their single-A team in 1985. From there, Showalter rose through the ranks and was promoted to the big-league coaching staff in 1990.
He eventually succeeded manager Stump Merill in 1992 and proceeded to manage in the Bronx until the conclusion of the 1995 season. The Yankees endured four-straight losing seasons until Showalter’s second year when they won 88-games.
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Not only did Showalter help turn around the Yankees, but he also led the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 100-62 record and NL West title in their second year of existence in 1999. Following an underwhelming season in 2000, Showalter was let go after just three seasons in Arizona. And once again, he fell victim to his former team winning a championship in the season after his departure.
Showalter’s next gig was managing the Texas Rangers from 2003-2006, winning Manager of the Year in his second season by leading his team to a 89-73 record. And his most recent managerial job came with the Orioles last decade when he ended a 15-year playoff drought and propelled them to three postseason appearances and four winning seasons from 2010-2018.
Now, the Mets are in need of a culture change, having posted a losing record in 10 out of the last 13 years. Team owner Steve Cohen and general manager Billy Eppler have committed $254.5 million in free agency thus far, signaling that they are in win-now mode. This makes all the more sense for them to bring in a win-now manager such as Showalter, who carries 20 years of experience under his belt.
Eppler, 46, spent 11 seasons with the Yankees, serving as assistant GM to Brian Cashman from 2012-2015. So, essentially, the Mets could possibly put two former Yankees in place as GM and manager if they wind up pulling the trigger on Showalter.
Showalter checks all of the boxes minus a World Series ring. By winning one with the Mets, he’d end the franchise’s 36-year drought without a title, while also punching his own ticket to the Hall of Fame.
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