It's Now Official, Buck Showalter Is Not Returning To The Orioles In Any Capacity. A Thank You To Buck From Baltimore.

I talked about this two weeks ago, but now it’s official, after nine seasons in Baltimore, Buck Showalter will not be back. It’s no surprise to me or any Orioles fan, the back-to-back last places seasons, coupled with the trades of major pieces to the team kind of sealed his fate. Buck is 62 years old, he is not the guy who was going to lead the ship during this rebuild. You can’t have a guy that age at the helm. Plus, why would he want to come back for the rebuild? He already did that one time in Baltimore. He’s getting up there in age, and I’m sure he would enjoy a job where he’s not in baseball pants every single day. Although I will miss him and his fungo bat during BP, I would love to see him take a front office job somewhere.

Outside of Baltimore he’ll always be remembered for not pitching Zach Britton in the 2016 Wild Card game, and that is fair. But in Baltimore he’ll be known as the man who brought the winning culture back to Baltimore. He took this job when no one else wanted it. No one. Baltimore was a black hole for baseball, but Buck left his cushy job with the four letter network, put on that orange and black and went to work.

When he took over on August 3rd, 2010, the Orioles had a record of 32-73. Buck led them to a record of 32-23 to finish that season, a .596 winning %. In his first full season in 2011 the Orioles were again a last place team, finishing with 69 wins and 93 losses, but we all remember how that 2011 season ended, I know Jared Carrybus remembers. They knocked the Red Sox out of the playoffs on the final day of the season and the Orioles celebrated like they had just won it all. I loved it. Some said it was childish and that the Orioles shouldn’t be celebrating that, fuck that. Buck and his team played to win that game, they weren’t going to roll over because the guys in the other dugout were from Boston. That is the mentality the Orioles took. They weren’t the Orioles I watched in middle and high schools, these guys wanted to win.

2012 was such a magical year, an insanely fun team to watch, 93-69 on the season and a trip to the playoffs for the first time since 1997,  Robbie Fox wasn’t even born yet. I’ll never forget going into that first Wild Card play in game and hearing that Buck was sending JOE SAUNDERS to the mound against Yu Darvish. What an insane move, but it paid off. He made the playoffs using guys like Randy Wolf, Lew Ford, Nate McLouth, Buck just found a way to get every ounce of talent out of a player. That 2012 season ended because the umpires didn’t see McLouth’s ball hit the foul pole in Game 5 in New York, but what a year it was. No one, NO ONE had the Orioles as a playoff team that year, and they went out there and surprised everyone. They were 16-2 in extra innings, that is crazy. In one run games they were 29-9, the one run games and extra innings record were the sole reason they made the playoffs.

2013 was a down year for the team as we saw Manny Machado have a devastating knee injury to end the season, and the club missed the playoffs at 85-77.

2014 was really something special. The team won 96 games and won their first AL East Division Crown since ’97. Once the O’s won that game, I remember seeing Buck just standing there watching everyone celebrate. He was like a proud dad watching his kids. That was who he was. He never took credit for anything, he didn’t want it. He did this for the players. Some of the moves he made in 2014 were great, especially in the playoffs. I’ll never forget him putting the tying run on first and the winning run at the plate for the Tigers in Game 3 of the 2014 ALDS, trying to set up the double play. And god damnit it worked. Orioles swept that series thanks to a move he did in Game 2. You know which one I’m talking about, the Delmon Young pinch hit.

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The bases clearing double to go ahead of the Tigers in Game 2. Goosebumps, absolute GOOSEBUMPS. That season ended in heartbreak as the Orioles were swept in the ALCS by the Royals. 4 games away from the World Series. For his services, he was named AL Manager Of The Year in 2014, rightfully so.

A lot of people remember Buck for his comments during the 2014 Riots in Baltimore. A terrible situation which led to riots in the city during games, people locked in Camden Yards due to the things going on outside, a game being played with no fans because they were worried about their safety, but Buck had some great words about it when he was asked. The good part starts around the 2 minute mark.

2015 saw the club regress and finish at 81-81, missing the playoffs again. In 2016 we saw another playoff trip, making the Wild Card play in game for the second time, this one went way worse than the first. Buck opted not to pitch Zach Britton in a tie game vs the Blue Jays when he was arguably the best pitcher that season, not on the Orioles, in all of baseball. Instead, we saw Ubaldo Jimenez serve a meatball up to Edwin Encarnacion. That question will live in Baltimore forever, “why didn’t Buck bring in Britton?”. He said he was haunted by it in the days after, and I’m sure he’ll always be haunted by it. It was his decision, and he has to live with it.

2017 and 2018 were less than ideal seasons as the club finished with back-to-back losing seasons. It’s a totally different team now, none of the same names are there from 2014 and 2016. Him leaving isn’t a shock, it’s really not. He and Dan Duquette never got along, especially after Dan tried to bolt for Toronto in 2015. There was always rumors that he was saying “It’s him or me”, well right now it seems like the club chose Dan over Buck.

I watched him manage his last game as the Orioles manager on Sunday and it was sad. He reminds everyone of their grandfather, just a jolly old guy who wants to see his kids do well. Nothing made him more happy than seeing his team do well. What a guy he was. Again, he took a job that NO ONE wanted, and made 3 playoff appearances with that team, not too bad. The guy has forgotten more about baseball than almost anyone else in the world, truly one of the best baseball guys out there, I have no doubt in my mind he’ll join a front office or TV station and do great things, and I can’t wait to see where his next step leads him. Because of the terrible last two seasons, he finished his Orioles tenure with an under .500 record, 669- 684.

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Thank you for everything, Buck. We’re sad a World Series Ring doesn’t get to leave with you, but that is how the cookie crumbles. I’ll miss you and your nose whistle more than anything. Adios Buck.