Buck Showalter

Buck Showalter
Baltimore Orioles – No. 26
Manager
Born: May 23, 1956 (1956-05-23) DeFuniak Springs, Florida
Bats: Left	Throws: Left
MLB debut
April 7, 1992 for the New York Yankees
Career statistics
Games	1935
Win-Loss record	985-949
Winning %	.509
Teams
New York Yankees (1992-1995) Arizona Diamondbacks (1998-2000) Texas Rangers (2003-2006) Baltimore Orioles (2010-present)

William Nathaniel "Buck" Showalter III (born May 23, 1956) is an American Major League Baseball (MLB) manager for the Baltimore Orioles. He has previously served in a similar capacity with the New York Yankees (1992–1995), Arizona Diamondbacks (1998–2000), and Texas Rangers (2003–2006). He was formerly a professional baseball player and a television analyst for ESPN.

A two-time American League (AL) Manager of the Year, Showalter has earned a reputation for building baseball teams into postseason contenders in short periods of time. He helped the Yankees rise from the bottom half of the AL East to first place before a players' strike prematurely ended the 1994 campaign. Under his watch, the Diamondbacks made their first-ever playoff appearance in only its second year of existence. He would leave both franchises just prior to seasons when they won the World Series.

The details-driven Showalter is well-known for outworking opposing managers and having an ability to spot over-looked talent. But he also has the reputation as a control freak who burns out his players and loses the confidence of management by tending towards information overloading and poor communications skills. The fact that his stints as field boss have been both very successful and relatively short has been attributed to such micromanagement tendencies.

Early life

Showalter, who was born in DeFuniak Springs, Florida, on May 23, 1956, grew up in nearby Century. His father, William Nathaniel II, served 23 years as a teacher and principal at Century High School, from which the younger Showalter eventually graduated. Before becoming a teacher, his father had been a Little All-American fullback in 1940 at Milligan College, and had considered a career in the National Football League with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but chose to become a high school coach and teacher instead.

Baseball career

Playing career

Showalter played baseball at Chipola Junior College (now Chipola College in Marianna, FL) in 1976. From there he moved on to Mississippi State University, where he was an All-American who batted .459 in 1977. He was selected by the New York Yankees in the fifth round of the 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 RBIs. Showalter never played in the majors with the Yankees in part because he played first base, the same position as Don Mattingly. According to interviews with Buck, he has said it was around this time he was given the nickname "Buck," as he tended to hang out in the locker room "Buck" naked.

Becoming a coach

Showalter was hired as manager of the Single-A minor league Oneonta Yankees of the New York-Penn League in 1985, leading them to 114 victories in two seasons. In 1987, he became manager of the minor league Fort Lauderdale Yankees, leading the league with an 85–53 record in his first season. By 1989, Showalter was with the Double-A Albany-Colonie Yankees of the Eastern League, where he was named Minor League Manager of the Year.^{[citation needed]}

New York Yankees

In 1990 Showalter was promoted to the coaching staff of the New York Yankees, and eventually succeeded Stump Merrill as the team's manager for the 1992 season. During his four years as the Yankees' manager, the team posted a record of 313–268, finishing first during the strike-shortened season, thereby being named by the Associated Press as the American League Manager of the Year and became the 1995 American League manager for the All-Star Game. The Yankees won the AL wild card in 1995, participating in the playoffs for the first time since 1981, but he left the Yankees after the 1995 season. The Yankees won the World Series the following year and they would win the World Series in 4 of the next 5 years. During this time period Showalter appeared as himself in the 1994 Seinfeld television episode The Chaperone.

Arizona Diamondbacks

In 1996 Showalter was hired by the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks two years before the team was scheduled to begin play in order to take a more active role in developing the eventual roster. In the Diamondbacks' first season (1998) Showalter managed the team to a 65–97 record, but following numerous off-season player acquisitions which included Randy Johnson, Armando Reynoso, Todd Stottlemyre and Steve Finley, Showalter managed the 1999 team to a 100–62 record, the best in the National League's Western Division. Following a mediocre third season, however, the Diamondbacks fired Showalter, leaving him with a 3-year record of 250–236. Just as the Yankees did after replacing him, the Diamondbacks won the World Series the following year.

Texas Rangers

After a few years as an analyst on ESPN, Buck Showalter was hired as manager of the Texas Rangers on October 11, 2002, following a last-place season under manager Jerry Narron. In his first season with the Rangers, Showalter managed the team to a 71–91 record – again in last place; but following the high-profile, off-season trade which sent Alex Rodriguez to the Yankees, Showalter's Rangers jumped out to an early-season record of 17–9 by early May of the 2004 season. The Rangers stayed in playoff contention for most of the season, performing far better than most had predicted. The Rangers failed to make the playoffs, finishing third in the AL West, though Showalter was again named Manager of the Year. In Showalter's 4 years with the Rangers the team failed to finish better than third (of four teams) in the AL West. He was fired as manager on October 4, 2006.

After Texas

Showalter was hired as a senior advisor to baseball operations for the Cleveland Indians on December 1, 2006. He then returned to ESPN as an analyst.

Baltimore Orioles

Showalter was appointed to succeed Juan Samuel as Baltimore Orioles manager on July 29, 2010. He chose to wear uniform number 26 as a tribute to Johnny Oates. Signed to a contract through the 2013 campaign, he inherited a ballclub with the worst record in the majors at 32–73. A 6–3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Camden Yards in his debut on August 3 led to a three-game sweep. The team's first-ever season series sweep of the Angels was completed by the end of the month. The Showalter-led Orioles finished 2010 at 34–23, second only to the Phillies during the same stretch.

Upon assuming his role as Orioles manager, his former Baseball Tonight colleague Steve Berthiaume often refer to the team as the "Fighting Showalters."

On September 26, 2011 Showalter was woozy during the first inning in a game against the Boston Red Sox at Camden Yards. He was physically carried out of the dugout to receive medical help. Initial reports indicated that he had sprained his ankle earlier in the day and was in pain due to the sprain.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball managers in 2010
• List of Major League Baseball managers in 2011

External links

• Career statistics and player information from The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Buck Showalter managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com