Buck Showalter has a little bit of Casey Stengel and Gil Hodges in him
Mets manager Buck Showalter looks on from the dugout against the San Diego Padres in an MLB baseball game at Citi Field on Saturday, July 23, 2022. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
On the day that Gil Hodges finally was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame, Buck Showalter did his best impression of a different former Mets manager.
Casey Stengel.
It’s an impression Showalter has been honing ever since he got the Mets job. A series of verbal meanderings and charming folksiness that would have made the Ol’ Professor proud.
Why is he doing it? Because it works. It calms things down. And Mets nation was getting a little antsy during a three-game losing streak before Sunday night’s 8-5 victory over San Diego at Citi Field.
The Mets, who were no-hit for the first four innings by Joe Musgrove, used a five-run sixth inning (Pete Alonso’s go-ahead three-run homer was the big blow) to snap their skid with the Yankees coming to Flushing on Tuesday.
Even after three losses, with the Mets a mere game ahead of Atlanta entering Sunday night, there was no sense of panic or impending doom or even a hint of worry from Showalter.
Instead, there were some thoughts on how hot it was in New York, which led to a mention of the lyrics of a Randy Travis song, which led to a disclaimer that he wasn’t making a statement on climate change.
Members of the 1962 Mets whom I have had the pleasure of interviewing have told me Stengel was transparent about his efforts to charm the writers because the expansion team he was managing was so bad. The writers would leave Stengel’s office with reams of copy to fill their columns, only some of it about what had happened on the field that day.
Showalter’s antics can’t and won’t have the same impact. It’s not 1962 and this year’s Mets are not lovable losers. In fact, the team’s offseason spending spree and 10½-game division lead on June 1 have led to expectations about where the Mets should be when this season comes to an end:
In the playoffs. Maybe in the World Series. Maybe winning it all.
How many times have you heard your Mets fans friends say, “What a one-two punch we’ll have in the playoffs with Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer . . . if we can only get deGrom back.”
One person who you probably have never heard say that? Showalter.
Oh, he wants deGrom back, even if Jake from State Farm has made as many starts for the Mets as deGrom has since July 7, 2021.
However, unlike Mets fans who are hoping the return of deGrom will help forestall the collapse they fear (understandably, because they have seen it happen so many times), Showalter had this to say on Sunday about deGrom:
“When they walk in and go, ‘Hey, I think Jake’ll be able to pitch in the big leagues on ‘X’ day, I’ll say, ‘OK, I’m in. Thank you.’ When it’s here, it’s here. I’ve got to operate like it’s not going to be here, OK? I’d be stupid if I didn’t.”
You might not like that sentiment, but it’s what a grown-up says. And that’s what Showalter has brought to the Mets. Gravitas in the dugout, which was much needed after the overmatched Mickey Callaway and the pleasant but underwhelming Luis Rojas.
On this Hall of Fame induction day, I got to thinking about what Showalter and Hodges have in common.
(Full disclosure: I got to thinking about it when I heard the great Howie Rose talking about Hodges on WCBS-880 while driving to the ballpark.)
Rose made the point that Hodges changed the Mets’ culture when he was hired as manager in 1968. Losing no longer was acceptable. And that mindset helped lead to the Miracle Mets World Series title in 1969.
With Showalter, it’s not so much that losing is no longer acceptable but that the Mets being a dysfunctional organization no longer is acceptable. So long, #LOLMets. Hello, professionalism.
Showalter is the adult in the room. He can handle the heat. Even on a 97-degree day with a three-game losing streak and the defending World Series champions on the Mets’ heels.
“Let’s go sweat,” he said before the game as he headed out to the sweltering field. Wearing a heavy Mets sweatshirt. Probably not sweating a bit.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
