The summer of 2010 has been a lot of things in baseball. The Year of the Pitcher some would say. Others say it’s the Year of the Rookie because of the influx of young talent making an impact. The End of an Era is another hot theme.
Some of the biggest names in managing are calling it quits at the end of the season. Bobby Cox quietly announced 2010 would be his last before the season. Lou Piniella finally confirmed the rumors that he would retire during a frustrating season as the Cubs skipper. And Joe Torre is 70 years old. While he hasn’t made a decision yet, retirement is definitely coming sooner rather than later for the old baseball lifer. The curtain is closing in Hollywood.
Three of the best managers of the generation will soon be gone from the game. The Hall of Fame may call all three to join newly elected Hall of Famer Whitey Herzog as managers in Cooperstown.
Perhaps it’s the Year of the Manager.
Each will be replaced in a different game than the one they began their managerial careers in. When Cox, Piniella, and Torre took their seats on the bench, the pressure wasn’t so brutal. The seat wasn’t so hot. The media has made everything more complicated and managers rarely last more than three seasons if they don’t win. And then there are steroids. And money and egos. It’s a new era. The 1980s are a distant memory now.
Back in the ’80s, teams like the Royals, Mets and Cubs were some of the best. Kansas City won the 1985 World Series with some help from the blue. The Amazins’ won in 1986 with some help from fate. And the Cubs were on the wrong side of fate in 1984 and 1989, but they came close. All three franchises have fallen on hard times in 2010.
But no team has fallen farther than the 1983 World Champions.
The Baltimore Orioles. […]
Gone are the days of Cal Ripken and Eddie Murray. Since 1983, Baltimore has had its ups and downs, but never has the once-proud organization been in a darker place than in 2010.
The Orioles own baseball’s worst record at 32-71. To add to the embarrassment, Baltimore has fewer wins than the amount of games back they are in the division (33.5). The feat was last accomplished by the 2003 Detroit Tigers, a team that lost more games, 119, than any other club in American League history. Only the 1962 Mets lost more games, setting the record for futility at 120.
The Washington Nationals of the past two seasons are even laughing at those records. The Nats may have had some spelling issues and a little scandal in the front office but at least they only lost 102 and 103 games. And Washington got Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper for all their troubles.
The Orioles are on pace to blow past those marks and with an extra bad week, they could challenge the Tigers and Mets in the history books.
The team hired Buck Showalter Thursday to prevent that from happening and to end the losing ways that have become synonymous with Orioles baseball.
It’s time to restore the Oriole Pride that defined the organization Cal Ripken’s entire career. For so long, Oriole Pride was the Ripken Way, the creed that Cal Sr., the Iron Man, and his brother Billy lived by as baseball men. It was about respect and playing the game the right way. It was about winning.
When Ripken retired, the pride in the Orioles disappeared. Losing became acceptable in place where it was once despised. When Ripken committed errors, it ate it him so much that he would work out for hours just after playing a game. It didn’t matter if the team won or lost, he failed. And failure was not an option.
That edge is a distant memory now like the era he played in.
Buck Showalter was hired by Baltimore to bring that edge back. He was hired to restore the winning attitude that made the orange and black one of baseball’s best. And while he will never have the resume of a Bobby Cox or a Lou Piniella or a Joe Torre – he will never even be considered for Cooperstown – he is the right man for the job.
Today, it looks like the worst job in baseball, an impossible situation for any manager. But to Showalter, it’s the perfect job. It’s the kind of challenge that lured him from the comforts of the ESPN studios. It’s a challenge he’s all too familiar with.
In 1990, the mighty New York Yankees weren’t so mighty. It’s hard to remember, but the Yankees were actually bad. In 1990, the club went 67-95 and finished seventh in the AL East. The following year wasn’t much better when they compiled a 71-91 record. Needless to say, New York needed change.
In 1992, Buck Showalter was the head man in the Bronx. The team improved to 88-74 in his second season and was first in the division before the strike ended 1994, but Showalter’s impact was far greater than the win-loss record indicated. During his stay in New York, they drafted Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte and signed Mariano Rivera. The core four of the Yankees dynasty that emerged in 1996 was selected in part by Showalter. His obsession with details on the field carried over to scouting and everything else he did. There was only one way to do things. There was only one right way. There was only one path to perfection.
Unfortunately, Showalter’s style didn’t mesh with George Steinbrenner’s plans and he was forced out in 1995 after losing to the Seattle Mariners in the AL Division Series. The following season, the Yankees won the World Series led by rookie shortstop Derek Jeter and manager Joe Torre.
Who knows, maybe Showalter would be on the verge of retirement with a spot waiting in Cooperstown?
But maybes aren’t a part of Showalter’s style and the 54-year-old still has a lot left in his baseball life.
Maybes are sign of being unprepared. And being unprepared is the first step to accepting failure. Showalter leaves no rock unturned when he’s managing.
"The Orioles are getting the most prepared manager I’ve ever met in 30 years of covering baseball. I remember walking into the visiting clubhouse in Baltimore a few years ago when Showalter was the manager of the Texas Rangers. It was the first game of a series, so the scouting report on the Orioles was written on several white boards, including detail such as in which count the Orioles like to attempt a steal of third. That was one of many such details.“Every team does this,” Showalter said of the intricate information.Orel Hershiser, then his pitching coach, laughed and said, “No team does this.”"
The need to take care of the little things is the key to success in baseball. And it’s magnified when trying to build an expansion franchise. After leaving New York in 1995, Showalter landed in Arizona to help create the Diamondbacks. His attention to detail was what made Arizona into a winner almost immediately. The team began play in 1998 with Buck on the bench. And the team struggled, going 65-97.
But one year later, Arizona won 100 games and the division behind Randy Johnson’s left arm and Showalter’s winning strategy. Arizona took a step back in winning 85 games the next season, but the foundation was laid. In just three years, this franchise was solid and ready to go big.
Showalter left after the 2000 season and Arizona would go on to win the World Series in 2001.
It’s more of a tribute than a curse for this baseball man, though. He took two losing teams and made them into winners ready for baseball’s biggest stage in only a few years.
In 2003, he returned to baseball. This time, the challenge was to fix the Texas Rangers, another franchise stuck in the doldrums.
Kurkjian highlights how Showalter turned things around in Texas just as he did in New York and Arizona.
"And it was Showalter who brought a winning tradition to the Rangers, a transformation that began in spring training during his first year when veteran players packed up their stuff after three innings of the first exhibition game of the year, and Showalter looked at them and said, “I’ll tell you when you’re done for the day.”"
That incident set the tone for Buck’s stay in Texas and it can still be felt today down at the old Ballpark in Arlington. The Rangers are on the verge of something special in 2010. The team leads the division by eight games and it appears ready to make a splash in the playoffs.
The front office has been aggressive at the trade deadline adding pieces around their foundation of players to ensure a division title and playoff baseball. Cliff Lee, Jorge Cantu, and Cristian Guzman are all good even great players who will make a difference on an already talented team. The attitude is simple: Winning is the only way and there are no excuses for not getting the job done.
That was how Buck approached baseball and it’s how the Rangers are going after it now. Few teams are going to be excited to take on Texas this October.
And as the Rangers take the step to the next level in 2010, Showalter is stepping back into baseball with the Baltimore Orioles. It will be tough, but he’s shown he can turn teams around in a few years.
Baltimore has young talent. The kids just need to learn how to play the game. Buck will show them the way and he will demand that they get the most out of their potential.
The days of losing are numbered in Baltimore. Buck Showalter will make sure of that.