Buck Showalter | Larry Brown Sports

Buck Showalter asks prospect who didn’t recognize Frank Robinson to write paper on him

February 24, 2014 By Gordon Dixon Leave a Comment

Frank Robinson’s status as one of the greatest players in Major League Baseball history safe and secure.

The 1982 inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame has a Rookie of the Year Award, World Series MVP, Triple Crown, and the distinction of being the only player to win the regular season MVP in both leagues among his many accomplishments. Robinson’s uniform No. 20 has been retired by the Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles, with whom he was part of two World Series winning teams.

On Monday, Robinson was in Sarasota, Florida to speak with Oriole players at spring training. Among those in attendance was Josh Hart, who was selected by the team in last year’s amateur draft. As Robinson made his way around the facilities, Hart had the opportunity to meet the former All-Star. The minor problem was, the 19-year-old had no idea about the man with whom he had come face-to-face.

Buck asked O's farmhand Josh Hart if he knew who Frank was. He didnt, so Buck told him he wanted a one-page report on him by tmrw. #Orioles

— Eduardo A. Encina (@EddieInTheYard) February 24, 2014

Given his place in the history of the game, there are sure to be more than a few — especially around Baltimore and Cincinnati — who will wonder how it’s possible to not know who Frank Robinson is. Fortunately, Buck Showalter made sure Josh Hart knows who he is now.

Filed Under: Baseball, Featured Stories Tagged With: Baltimore Orioles, Buck Showalter, Frank Robinson, Josh Hart

Buck Showalter, Joe Girardi get into fight (Video)

September 9, 2013 By Larry Brown Leave a Comment

Buck Showalter and Joe Girardi had to be restrained after getting into a fight before the second inning of the New York Yankees-Baltimore Orioles game on Monday night.

The argument occurred after Girardi had words with Orioles third base coach Bobby Dickerson. Girardi apparently thought Dickerson was relaying signs — possibly pitch locations — to Baltimore’s batters, and said something to him about it. Showalter came out of the Orioles dugout to try confronting Girardi, who also came out.

Showalter could be seen doing a “cut that out” gesture and yelling “F— that s—” to Girardi, who also had to be held back.

Girardi seemed to be in agreement with Showalter somewhat, because he was saying “I know” to Showalter.

“There was something that I saw, and I’m just going to leave it at that,” Girardi said after the game.

The game was tied 1-1 at the time of their fight. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the whole thing is that Showalter managed to do all that yelling without swallowing his chaw.

Filed Under: Baseball Tagged With: Buck Showalter, Joe Girardi

Buck Showalter angry Alex Rodriguez suspension could let Yankees off the hook

August 1, 2013 By Steve DelVecchio Leave a Comment

The New York Yankees may be the biggest winners when Major League Baseball inevitably announces that it has suspended Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod, who has two bad hips and a quad that may or may not be lame, is currently playing under one of the worst contracts in all of sports. The Yankees still owe him $86 million and have nothing to show for it, but Rodriguez’s involvement in Biogenesis could absolve them of some of that burden.

Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter thinks that is bogus.

“If Bud (Selig) lets them get away with that, they’re under the luxury tax,” Showalter told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. “If they can reset, they can spend again and I guarantee you in two years Matt Wieters is in New York.

“They’re the ones who signed him to that contract.”

Showalter simply said what a lot of people were already thinking. If A-Rod continues to push back against MLB and they somehow manage to ban him from baseball for life, the Yankees are completely off the hook. If he agrees to a suspension settlement (which appears more likely at the moment), he could be out for the rest of 2013 and all of 2014. Either situation would greatly benefit the Yankees.

A-Rod is owed $25 million next season, and New York has made it known they would love to get under the $189 million luxury tax mark. It would be much easier to get under that number if A-Rod is suspended for all or even a large portion of next season, because the Yankees would not be required to pay him. That would make it easier to re-sign Robinson Cano and go after other free agents like — as Showalter mentioned — Orioles catcher Matt Wieters.

The problem is there is likely nothing MLB can do about it. The Yankees will not have to pay A-Rod during his suspension just as the Milwaukee Brewers don’t have to pay Braun. New York knew the risks involved with signing Rodriguez to a 10-year, $275 million contract, especially considering he admitted to using steroids with the Texas Rangers roughly a decade ago. And now, because Rodriguez has opted to continue living the life of a fraud, the Yankees could end up huge scoring big time.

Filed Under: Baseball Tagged With: Alex Rodriguez, Buck Showalter, New York Yankees

Buck Showalter loses it during ejection (Video)

June 22, 2013 By Larry Brown Leave a Comment

Buck Showalter was ejected for the first time all season, and he certainly got his money’s worth.

The Orioles manager was run during the second inning of his team’s 7-6 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night, and the ejection was over a controversial strikeout.

Orioles slugger Chris Davis was facing a 1-2 count against knuckleballer R.A. Dickey and whiffed on a pitch for strike three. Davis began running to first because Jays catcher Josh Thole dropped the ball. Home plate umpire Angel Hernandez initially said that Davis fouled off the pitch, but he changed his call after Jays manager John Gibbons argued the ruling.

The overturned call caused Showalter to bolt out of the dugout, and that’s when things got interesting. Go ahead to the 1:00 mark in the video to see the good stuff:

A replay showed that Davis missed the pitch, so the overturned call was the correct one. Here’s a screenshot that shows him missing it:

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Baseball Tagged With: Angel Hernandez, Buck Showalter

Buck Showalter gets Darren O’Day with excellent prank (Video)

June 29, 2012 By Larry Brown Leave a Comment

Manager Buck Showalter has a reputation for being a no-nonsense type of guy. Having that type of reputation keeps you from being widely beloved, but it creates an excellent front for pranks.

In this excellent prank set up by MLB’s FanCave, Orioles reliever Darren O’Day thinks he’s doing an interview for The Wall Street Journal about an electric unicycle he likes to use. Instead, he was just being set up by Showalter, Jim Johnson, and the MLB FanCave crew.

If you enjoyed that, you’ll like all the other baseball pranks we’ve featured here at LBS.

Filed Under: YouTubeage Tagged With: baseball pranks, Buck Showalter, Darren O'Day

Mark Reynolds hilariously leaves Buck Showalter hanging after HR (GIF)

May 6, 2012 By Larry Brown 1 Comment

Mark Reynolds left manager Buck Showalter hanging in one of the funnier moments we’ve seen this season. The Orioles third baseman had crushed a solo home run in the third inning of Friday night’s win over the Red Sox when he made his way to the dugout. The homer was the first of the season for the slumping Reynolds, so his teammates gave him the silent treatment in the dugout — typical protocol for someone breaking out of a power slump. Reynolds recognized he was receiving the silent treatment upon approaching the dugout, so he decided to give a dose of it back, and that’s why he ended up snubbing Showalter.

“I got the silent treatment from the dugout, which was expected,” Reynolds explained, per The Baltimore Sun. “They were all sitting down, so I just ran in the tunnel. I think I stood Buck up. He was trying to give me a five and I ran by him, but I didn’t mean to. I gave him a five when I came back out.”

Even though the snub looked bad, there were no hard feelings. Showalter just hoped the homer was a sign Reynolds was breaking out of his slump. Maybe it was; Reynolds hit another home run on Saturday and raised his average by 40 points with back-to-back 2-for-4 games.

GIF via Chad Moriyama

Filed Under: Baseball Tagged With: Buck Showalter, Mark Reynolds

Buck Showalter: the Home Run Derby is ‘Unwatchable’, Has Juiced Balls

July 16, 2011 By Steve DelVecchio 1 Comment

Is there any out there who really, truly enjoys watching the Home Run Derby? Sure, some of the player antics can be entertaining. It’s fun to watch the camaraderie between some of the game’s best sluggers, but that’s pretty much where it ends. Obviously most of the players across the league are not fond of the event, which is why it seems like more and more hitters turn down the invitation every year. I don’t think any of them hate the Derby as much as Buck Showalter.

Showalter, who has never been afraid to voice or show his displeasure with something, had some harsh words when asked about the Home Run Derby on Thursday.

“It’s hard to watch the home run hitting contest,” Showalter said. “Obviously, the balls are juiced. Those aren’t normal balls that they’re hitting. I’ve been in Arizona for a long time and you don’t hit balls where they’re hitting them. Trust me. And that’s not a well-kept secret that those aren’t the normal baseballs. But they can’t do anything to baseballs to make them go further, right?”

“I was looking at some of those places they were hitting those balls and I was going, ‘No, I don’t think so.’ But it was entertaining I hear. Did anybody watch it from start to finish?” he continued. “I didn’t think so. It’s unwatchable.”

Easy, killer. It’s just a game.

Filed Under: Baseball Tagged With: Buck Showalter, Home Run Derby