Why Yankees' Aaron Boone Thinks Mets Made Right Move Hiring Buck Showalter
Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who spoke in a zoom press conference on Dec. 22 regarding the announcement of his coaching staff in 2022, has a good feeling about the Mets’ recent hire of Buck Showalter to be their next skipper.
“I texted him yesterday just to say congrats and welcome back and all that, but I have not spoken to him,” Boone told reporters. “I’m sure at some point over the winter we’ll catch up at some point. He’s somebody that I talk to every now and then already. I think the Mets got a really good one in Buck and I’m excited to see him back.”
Boone and Showalter shared a studio in 2010 when they hosted ESPN’s Baseball Tonight. Showalter joined the show after leaving the Texas Rangers following the 2006 season, and Boone came on board after retiring from the majors at the conclusion of the 2009 campaign.
Not only did they cross paths during their media careers, but they also share common experiences as Showalter managed the Yankees from 1992-1995. Showalter was let go one season prior to Joe Torre taking over at the helm, who led the Bronx Bombers to four World Series titles across the next five seasons.
READ: Yankees Announce 2022 Coaching Staff
Although Boone wasn’t Torre’s successor, he replaced Joe Girardi in 2018, becoming just the third Yankees’ manager since Showalter was fired after the 1995 season.
After departing from the Baltimore Orioles’ dugout following the 2018 season, Showalter, a three-time Manager of the Year Award recipient, joined the Yankees’ regional network, YES, during Boone’s second year as the skipper in the Bronx. Showalter, 65, served in this role, as well as an additional analyst gig with MLB Network, until ultimately landing the Mets’ managerial job on Dec. 18.
Now, Showalter will be the 24th manager in Mets history, and will compete against Boone and the crosstown rival Yankees six times a year in the Subway Series. Showalter was let go a season before the Yankees won a World Series and ignited a dynasty, which means he will have a little bit of extra motivation to win a title in Queens.
Showalter holds 20 years of big-league managing experience with the Yankees, Diamondbacks, Rangers and Orioles. He also helped turn each of these clubs around, ending New York and Baltimore’s 14-year postseason droughts, leading the Diamondbacks to an NL West title and 100-win season in their second year of existence and winning Manager of the Year in 2004 with Texas as a result of an 89-win campaign.
Showalter was selected by the Yankees in the fifth round of the 1977 MLB Draft and went onto play in their minor league system until he was hired to manage their Single-A club in 1985. From there, Showalter rose through the ranks, which led to him earning a spot on the major league staff in 1990. And the rest is history, as he replaced Stump Merrill as the Yankees’ manager in 1992, thus kickstarting a 20-year career as a skipper.
The Mets will deploy two former members of the Yankees’ organization in their hierarchy in Showalter, and general manager Billy Eppler, who spent seven seasons as their scouting director and four as assistant GM to Brian Cashman.
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