The New York Mets may be looking to hire someone with previous managerial experience after they fired Mickey Callaway this week, and Buck Showalter is one candidate who has plenty of that. If the Mets have interest in him, Showalter has made it clear it would be mutual.
In an appearance on Steve Somers’ show on WFAN Thursday night, Showalter said he is not comfortable openly campaigning for any job but admitted he would like to be considered for the Mets’ vacancy.
“Yeah, I’d like to be talked about it, but I’m not going to campaign about it, and I’m real uncomfortable even talking about it with you now because there’s a lot of good people out there and they’re going to make a good decision,” Showalter said. “They’ll have reasons why and why not, and, you know, I respect that.”
Showalter is 63 and a three-time AL Manager of the Year. He last managed the Baltimore Orioles from 2010-2018 and was with the Texas Rangers, Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees prior to that. The Mets are likely looking for a manager who will embrace analytics, and there are always questions about whether older managers are willing to do that. While he didn’t speak directly about that, Showalter said he has always been willing to work with executives and front office staffers on baseball decisions.
“I welcome that,” Showalter said. “I’d like to think that we have good reasons for the things that we do. And the best organizations are the ones that are able to bridge all the departments into pulling on the same rope.”
If the Mets go with an older, big-name manager like Showalter, he would almost certainly be lower on their wish list than Joe Maddon and Joe Girardi. There’s also been talk that they could interview one prominent former player for the position.
Showalter’s time with the Orioles ended with just three playoff appearances in eight-plus seasons, but he was not given a whole lot to work with. Not wanting to spend to build a roster should not be an issue with the Mets, so perhaps he would have more success in a situation like that.
