Baseball Stew: Showalter and O’s World Series bound?
In mid-August this year I interviewed Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter. It seems that despite his solid value system, his contributions to the game, and his insights into baseball, he is too often singled out for one thing, the uncanny ability to take a team and turn things around.
It is certainly true he has been hired by organizations such as the Diamondbacks, Yankees, and most recently the Orioles, who then experienced rather sudden bursts of success. When Showalter’s O’s clinched the division title this month, it earned them their first such title since 1997 and their second playoff berth over a three-year span following a torturous 14 consecutive seasons below .500.
However, Showalter modestly scoffs at such those who compare him to an alchemist, one capable of turning base metal into gold. “Timing is everything. I come in and [in] every situation that has gotten better after being poor, you can find someone who took the bullet to get it right. And that’s the manager before me, [or, for example] the GM before Dan Duquette. Sooner or later, we’d have turned anyway.
“And I’ve been that guy, too. The guy who had the guts to do the right thing. [Orioles bench coach] John Russell did it in Pittsburgh, and he ended up being let go when they were ready to win.” He pointed to the “shelf life” of big league managers. When a team’s fans, media, and/or front office begins to feel that team’s manager is becoming stale, the manager is tossed into the trash.
“It’s not fair,” continued Showalter, who also pointed out sometimes the best managing you do is actually what you don’t do. Often, with talented players, a manager can simply step back and let them perform. As Showalter said, by way of one example. “You know, [with] Adam Jones, what did I do?
“Now, you do create the environment where they can be the best that they can be, but what creates the environment is the players and winning. If you win, your words mean more.”
Still, Showalter supporters say that he does get results and that he does deserve kudos. O’s closer Zach Britton said, “You can definitely see why, because he’s prepared and he makes you play the game the right way. He might not have some of the best players, but he’s going to make them play the game the right way— get guys over [on the basepaths], field their position. Our defense is top of the league and he preaches pitching and defense and the timely hitting, and that’s definitely filtered throughout the organization.”
Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez succinctly sang his praise of Showalter, “He’s smart— there’s not a move in baseball he doesn’t know.”
Britton added, “The thing I noticed about him is his ability to kind of relax the team. At home [in the clubhouse] we have a little pool table and he allows us time to kind of cool down and relax. He understands how stressful the season is— that you don’t want to get too high, too low. And that helps us, and it filters down to the coaching staff and us when we go out for the game.
“We’re always prepared for any type of situation. He [instills] that throughout the minors when they’re coming up: This is how you’re going to play the game, the right way. We’re going to do the little things right. So you’ve see a drastic change with the way our organization operates, based on how our manager acts and his idea of, ‘This is how the game should be played.’”
Although Showalter has been around for quite some time, he is flexible enough to see the value of new trends in baseball. In 2014 a hot topic was the ever-increasing use of defensive shifts, something the Orioles were using perhaps more than they ever had before.
Britton said, “That’s something when we’re pitching, before the hitter gets in there, you’re always looking to see what we’re doing [with defensive alignments] because it’s not always, ‘Oh, this is how we’re going to shift this guy all time.’ There are adjustments in the game, and I think that’s really important and it depends on the pitcher, too. It’s not like we have a set way. A lot of it’s based on who’s pitching. I want to say we probably shift [more than most teams]— we got to be up there. I know Joe Maddon shifts a lot, too [with his Rays]. I think it’s beneficial. There’s no rule that says you can’t do it. Why not? If a guy has a tendency to really pull the ball or something like that, why wouldn’t you put the defense in a better position to get outs.”
With Showalter at the helm, said Britton,“You know you can get a World Series by the time he’s done managing. I’m kind of surprised he hasn’t had one already.” Britton may soon have to alter that last statement— a World Series title just might be in the offing real soon.