Does Buck Showalter make sense to be next manager of Padres?
Credit: USA Today Sports
The San Diego Padres need a new manager- is Buck Sholwalter the right man for the job?
Both of A.J. Preller’s managerial hires as general manager of the San Diego Padres were failures. Unfortunately, those two hires were also of two inexperienced managers, which followed a very common trend for the franchise.
Seeing his previous failures at hiring a manager, Preller might want to hire a manager with prior managerial experience. One reported candidate with managerial experience is Buck Showalter.
Showalter managed four teams starting in 1992 with the New York Yankees for four years and finished his last gig with the Baltimore Orioles in 2018 after nine years. In between New York and Baltimore, Showalter also managed the Arizona Diamondbacks for three years and Texas Rangers for four years as well.
In over 3,000 managed games, Showalter boasts 1,551 wins and a 50.7% winning percentage. He won manager of the year three times, once with the Yankees, Rangers, and Orioles.
During his time in Baltimore, Showalter managed and saw the rise of current Padres’ third baseman Manny Machado. After it became clear that the Padres clubhouse did not respect former Padres manager Jayce Tingler, a locker room in which Machado is considered a leader in, the new Padres manager needs to gain the respect of the clubhouse and Machado. Showalter would presumably already have the respect of Machado, his first major league coach.
In a recent interview with Britt Ghiroli, Showalter admitted that he has an interest in returning to manage and that “nobody ever really does” retire. During Showalter’s “retirement,” he spent time as an analyst on MLB Network.
Buck Showalter’s name has come up with the managerial openings of the Mets & Padres. But does he want to manage again? Caught up with the 64-year-old in Houston a few days ago: https://t.co/H1tOMmlsxh
— Britt Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) October 11, 2021
Showalter had a reputation for running a tight ship that demanded the best out of his players. His old-school style would be new to some of the tenured Padres players who were managed by a more relaxed Andy Green and Jayce Tingler.
One thing not working for Showalter is his teams’ success following his departure.
After Showalter resigned from the position for not agreeing to fire his hitting coach in 1995, the Yankees turned around and hired Joe Torre, who led New York to the promised land by winning four of the next five World Series.
Showalter got his next gig as the inaugural manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1998. Although Showalter led the Diamondbacks to the playoffs in 1999, his 85-win record in 2000 did not meet expectations and resulted in his firing. Bob Brenley replaced Showalter and won the World Series for Arizona in his first year.
The story repeated itself for Showalter in Texas, as they made two World Series appearances with Ron Washington, the manager who succeeded Showalter.
ICYMI: We asked Buck Showalter about managing a young Manny Machado, and his answer was easily our favorite part of today's interview!
FULL INTERVIEW: https://t.co/D1uZSMXykM pic.twitter.com/iZ5Fao27f5
— Ben & Woods (@BenAndWoods) October 18, 2021
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If Showalter were to be brought in as the new manager of the Padres, he would immediately command respect from his players from experience. However, there are some questions on how Showalter would fare in the new era of baseball with analytics and how willing he would be to take orders from Preller and the front office.
Showalter seems like a safe hire for Preller that can get a lot out of the Padres.
Dominic is a graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Journalism. He also is the producer and co-host of the “Padres EVT Podcast.”