Buck Showalter

At 67 years old, Buck Showalter has this physical status:

Playing career

Before turning professional, Showalter was known as "Nat" and had not heard the word "Buck" before becoming a professional. In 1976, Showalter played college baseball at Chipola Junior College (now Chipola College) in Marianna, Florida. He went from Mississippi State University to play for the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Showalter played collegiate summer baseball for the Hyannis Mets in 1976, where he was named league MVP and earned the league batting title with a.434 batting average. He was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2002.

Showalter was an All-American and set the Mississippi State record for batting average in a season by hitting.459 during the 1977 season. He was drafted by the New York Yankees in the fifth round of the 1977 MLB draft and spent seven seasons in the Yankees' minor league system, where he had a career average of.294 with 17 home runs and 336 run batted in. He never made it to the big leagues.

Managing career

Showalter was hired as the head of the Oneonta Yankees of the New York–Penn League in 1985, guiding the team to 114 victories in two seasons. He was named in the New York–Penn League Hall of Fame in August 2017 as an inductee.

Showalter was the head coach of the minor league Fort Lauderdale Yankees in 1987, leading the league with an 85–53 record in his first season. Showalter was the manager of the Double-A Albany-Colonie Yankees of the Eastern League in 1989, where he was named Minor League Manager of the Year by Baseball America.

Showalter was promoted to the New York Yankees' coaching staff in 1990, and he eventually replaced Stump Merrill as the team's manager for the 1992 season. The team's manager, John Paul, posted a record of 313-268, finishing first during the strike-shortened 1994 season and being named by the Associated Press as the American League Manager of the Year and 1995 American League manager for the All-Star Game. For the first time since 1981, the Yankees won the AL wild card in 1995, playing in the playoffs for the first time since 1981. In the Division Series, the Seattle Mariners lost to the Seattle Mariners. Following the season, owner George Steinbrenner gave Showalter a new, two-year deal, but Showalter refused to fire Rick Down, his hitting coach. Showalter was unable to do this. Showalter and the team parted ways "under amicable terms," the Yankees announced on October 26, 1995; Showalter was surprised at the news. Although some reports claim that Showalter was fired from the Yankees, others claim he resigned from his position. Showalter ended his Yankees tenure with a regular-season record of 313 wins and 268 losses, as well as a playoff record of two victories and three losses.

The Yankees won the World Series the year before, and they will sweep the World Series for the first five years in four of the next five years. However, Showalter did not watch the Yankees win the World Series, saying, "I feel sorry for the fans" in New York for the 1994 disaster.

In the 1994 Seinfeld television series "The Chaperone," Showalter appeared alongside Danny Tartabull.

Showalter was hired by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1996, two years before the team was scheduled to begin playing in order to play a larger part in the eventual roster. Showalter led the Diamondbacks to a 65-97 record in their first season (1998), but the team was boosted by a multitude of off-season acquisitions, including Randy Johnson, Armando Reynoso, Todd Stottlemyre, and Steve Finley, making them the youngest expansion team in MLB history to win a division title. They lost in the NLDS to the New York Mets. The Diamondbacks fired Showalter after the team fell to an 85-77 record in 2000, leaving him with a three-year record of 250–236. The Diamondbacks captured the World Series the following year, just as the Yankees did after replacing him.

Showalter was hired as the Texas Rangers' head coach in 2002 after a last-place season under new manager Jerry Narron after a few years as an ESPN analyst. Showalter led the Rangers to a 71-91 record in his first season as coach, Alex Rodriguez was sent to the Yankees in a high-profile off-season trade; but the Rangers soared to a 17–9 record in early May of this season. For the majority of the season, the Rangers remained in playoff contention, doing much better than most expected. Despite being named Manager of the Year again by Showalter, the Rangers failed to make the playoffs after finishing third in the AL West. In Showalter's four years with the Rangers, the team failed to finish higher than third (of four teams) in the AL West. On October 4, 2006, he was fired as the manager. He set a 319–329 record in his Rangers career.

Showalter was hired as a senior advisor to baseball operations for the Cleveland Indians on December 1, 2006, then returned to ESPN as an analyst before being selected to replace Juan Samuel as the Baltimore Orioles' manager on July 29, 2010. As a tribute to Johnny Oates, he wore uniform number 26. He inherited a ballclub with the worst record in the majors at 32–73 after signing to a deal through the 2013 season. The Orioles defeated the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 6–3 on August 3, giving the Oriole Park victory by the three-game sweep in his first managerial appearance. By the end of the month, the Angels' first-ever season series sweep was complete. The 2010 Orioles won 34 of 57 games played under Showalter, second only to the Phillies during the same stretch.

In a 7–1 victory at Yankee Stadium on May 1, 2012, Showalter captured his 1,000th victory of his major-league career. Showalter's 2012 season ended with a.574 winning percentage, winning 93 games, and snaping a streak of losing seasons for the Orioles at 14.

For the first time since 1997, the Orioles reached the playoffs for the first time since 1997, defeating the Texas Rangers in the Wild Card game on October 5, 2012. In the 2012 American League Division Series, the Orioles were defeated by the New York Yankees in a 3 game to 2. According to The Sporting News, Showalter was named the AL Manager of the Year. He was with the Orioles through 2018.

Showalter led the 2014 Orioles to the AL East title after being out of playoff contention in the 2013 season, the first in 17 years. The Orioles swept the Detroit Tigers (3–0) in the ALDS for Showalter's first major league ALDS title before being swept (4–0) by the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS.

Showalter received his third AL Manager of the Year award on November 11, 2014, his first since 2004.

The Orioles finished the 2015 season with an 81–81 record, their fourth straight non-losing season. With an 89–73 record, the Orioles finished second in the American League East in 2016. For the third time in five years, they made the postseason, but they lost 5–2 in 11 innings to the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL Wild Card tournament.

Showalter's and General Manager Dan Duquette's contracts came to an end on October 3, 2018, days after the Orioles suffered with a franchise-worst 115 losses, and the team announced that they would not be brought back.

The New York Mets hired Showalter as their boss on December 18, 2021, extending his tenure to three years. Showalter wears number 11—the number he wore every other place he wore other than Baltimore, where he wore number 26 in honor of Johnny Oates.

He was the highest overturn percentage (78.6%) in 2022, ranking him as the best full-season manager to not be banned from any games. The Mets had their first 100-win seasons since 1988 under Showalter, losing the division to the Atlanta Braves in an automatic tiebreaker. In Game 3 against the San Diego Padres, the Mets will continue to lose the NLWCS.

Source