Former 4-time Manager of the Year Buck Showalter was critical of the Los Angeles Dodgers after seeing the video of Roki Sasaki’s first live batting practice session with the team.
Sasaki drew a huge crowd when he threw his first live BP to his Dodgers teammates at Camelback Ranch in Arizona on Wednesday. A photo showed several uniformed and non-uniformed people huddled behind the batting cage to get a glimpse of the Dodgers’ new pitcher in action.
Showalter was a guest on the MLB podcast “Foul Territory” Thursday and expressed disbelief over the video.
“Did you guys see the tape of [Sasaki]? Oh my god, there must have been 50 people standing around. First of all, how can you have that many players standing around? Don’t you have something to do? You got that many people watching your first outing. Your whole country and everybody in the States is watching you. You don’t think he feels some pressure to turn up the dial a little bit?” Showalter said.
"You don't think he feels some pressure to turn up the dial a little bit?"
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) February 21, 2025
Buck Showalter reacts to Roki Sasaki's side work with the Dodgers. pic.twitter.com/HmsDvvgnZL
Showalter wasn’t ripping the Dodgers throughout the interview. He just thought that there was more attention on Sasaki that day than there needed to be.
Showalter, who most recently managed the Mets from 2022-2023, praised Dodgers manager Dave Roberts for winning the World Series last season. Showalter says it’s hard to win when you’re expected to win.
“Dave has done a great job of playing a good hand well, and that’s hard to do,” Showalter stated.
Showalter, 68, knows about the spotlight as well as anyone. He managed the Yankees from 1992-1995 when the late George Steinbrenner was still alive and running the team. He also had stints as the manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles before his recent brief tenure with the Mets.
Showalter won a Manager of the Year Award in four different decades during his career. The Dodgers are entering the 2025 season with expectations of repeating as World Series champions following their huge offseason.
