After Dusty Baker won his first World Series ring with the Astros last season; Mets manager Buck Showalter currently sits as the winningest active manager without a World Series ring. While Showalter has been successful in just about every place he’s gone, he’s never had success in the postseason. Even though the New York Mets have a playoff-contending roster, I don’t see him getting the Mets a world championship.
An Accomplished Career
Buck Showalter has accomplished a lot in his career as a manager for the Yankees, Diamondbacks, Rangers, Orioles, and Mets. He helped the Yankees, Orioles, and Mets get back to the postseason after years of disarray. In just their second year of existence, Showalter took the Diamondbacks to the postseason. He also helped the Texas Rangers have their first winning season in five seasons at that point. Showalter himself has won the manager of the year award four different times including last year. In 2022, he also became just the seventh manager to win the award in both leagues.
The Marty Schottenheimer of Major League Baseball
This comparison originally went to Dusty Baker. However, now that Baker has a ring, it’s easy to compare Buck Showalter to Marty Schottenheimer. Like Schottenheimer, Showalter has had a lot of success turning teams around and making them postseason contenders. However, when it came to the playoffs, both coaches’ teams always failed in the big moments. Like Schottenheimer, Showalter has a losing record in the playoffs. He currently has a 10-16 record in the postseason and has only been to a league championship series once back in 2014. His Baltimore Orioles team was swept in that ALCS. The rest of the time his team has been knocked out early in the postseason.
Perhaps “The Double” Was The Catalyst Of His Bad Luck
The most famous occurrence of Showalter’s postseason bad luck happened in 1995. Showalter’s Yankees found themselves in the postseason for the first time in 13 years including the strike year. They even took a 2-0 on the Seattle Mariners in the ALDS. However, the Mariners would come storming all the way back to upset the Yankees 3-2. This included Edgar Martinez’s famous game-winning hit in the 11th inning which would become known as “the double.” Many people believed this saved baseball for the city of Seattle.
His Teams Were More Successful After He Left
Three out of the four teams that Buck Showalter has managed have had more success after he left. After he was fired by the Yankees, they won the World Series a season later. They would also form their latest dynasty by winning it in four of the next five seasons. The Arizona Diamondbacks were also able to taste championship champagne the season after he was fired in 2001. Four years after he left Texas, the Rangers would go on to appear in the World Series in back-to-back seasons.
It’s The Mets
No matter who is playing or managing the New York Mets, the franchise just can’t seem to have success. Since winning the World Series in 1986, the Mets have employed 11 different managers. They’ve appeared in the postseason just six times including twice in the World Series during that span. However, the Mets haven’t been able to bring a championship back to Queen. During this span, they became a franchise known for blowing leads, internal dysfunction, losing seasons, and not winning when it matters. Under Showalter, blown leads and not winning when it matters a still a thing. After all, it’s what the New York Mets and Buck Showalter have in common. After all, they are just the Mets.
Last season, Showalter’s New York Mets were in first place in the NL East for most of the season. However, the Atlanta Braves went 18-8 in September including sweeping the Mets to take the NL East. Once again, a Buck Showalter-led team faltered when it mattered most. The Mets would be forced to play in the Wild Card game bowing out 2-1 against the Padres. Once again the bad luck of Showalter and the Mets proved to be too much for the current club.
He’s Not A Postseason Manager
What separates good and great managers is how their teams do in the postseason. While Buck Showalter can turn teams around and get them into the playoffs, he can’t take them over the top. His teams after all have only advanced to the ALCS once in his career. There is a reason some of his teams have had more success without him in the dugout. Buck Showalter has had a lot of winning regular seasons, however, great managers are measured by postseason season success. It’s also the metric the writers use when deciding who gets elected into the hall of fame. Given Showalter’s lack of success in the postseason and the Met’s history, I don’t see either of their luck changing.
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