The long downtrodden Baltimore Orioles have lured Buck Showalter away from ESPN to be their new manager. Showalter has managed the Yankees, Diamondbacks and Rangers in his career and hasn’t been on a bench since 2006 with Texas.
Showalter has compiled 882-833 record, twice being named American League Manager of the Year (1994, 2004). He’ll replace interim Juan Samuel, the club’s third base coach who compiled a 16-31 record after taking over for Dave Trembley on June 4. Showalter, 54, will lead his fourth team in what will be his 12th season as a big league manager. He becomes the Orioles’ 10th manager since principal owner Peter Angelos took over in August 1993.
The Orioles were arguably baseball’s premier franchise in the 1990s when Camden Yards opened but haven’t had a winning team since 1997 — the team’s last playoff appearance. And the Birds will have trouble competing with the deep-pocketed Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the AL East. Plus the Tampa Bay Rays have tons of young talent. The Orioles are also a major-league worst 18-33 at home.
The Yankees hadn’t made the playoffs in 14 years when he got them into the postseason in 1995. A year after taking over a last-place Rangers team, he had Texas in playoff contention for most of the 2004 season. He built the Diamondbacks from the ground up as the first manager in club history, guiding them from 97 losses in their debut in 1998 to 100 wins in 1999.
Showalter’s first game as manager will be Tuesday against the Los Angeles Angels, the first game of a seven-game homestand. He is probably a good fit because of his reputation for dealing with inexperienced major leaguers and the current club’s lack of discipline and fundamentals.
Samuel, former Rangers and Mets manager Bobby Valentine, former Cleveland skipper Eric Wedge and popular ex Orioles catcher Rick Dempsey also interviewed for the job.
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