PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — For the first time in five years, the Mets opted for an old-school manager when they hired Buck Showalter as skipper. A few weeks into spring training, players in the Mets clubhouse have felt a shift in energy.
“We work our butts off,” said Mets first baseman/outfielder Dominic Smith. “We just have a certain confidence and swagger that I feel like in the past, we didn’t have.”
“The leadership, it starts with Buck,” said shortstop Francisco Lindor. “That’s the number one thing that’s a big change.”
“Being in this organization for 12 years, it kind of feels like it’s a new organization,” said reliever Seth Lugo. “The excitement is here.”
“He’s perfect for this team,” said veteran second baseman Robinson Cano.
Mets players were quick to point out Showalter’s attention to detail, a reputation the 65-year-old skipper held well before he introduced himself to the players once the lockout was lifted earlier this month. Showalter worked for 20 years as a big-league manager for the Yankees, Diamondbacks, Rangers and Orioles. His fifth stint with the Mets brings him back to New York City, where he first started his managerial career in the Bronx from 1992-95.
“He’s kind of old school but listens to the new stuff,” Lugo said of Showalter. “He’s open about learning new things. He’s just a baseball guy — it’s comforting. Good stories too.”
Showalter, players said, doesn’t just tell them what to do; he goes out on the field and shows them. Cano, who has played under managers Joe Torre, Joe Girardi, Lloyd McClendon, Scott Servais, Mickey Callaway, and Luis Rojas across his 16-year career, said Showalter’s unique ability to be open and approachable is something he hadn’t experienced from other managers.
“Buck is focused on the game stuff, not routine stuff,” Cano said. “Other managers would focus on everything. But he’s just focused on the things that can happen in the game, which is good. That tells you a lot, how much he cares about winning. He wants us to get better, and that’s what you want from a manager.”
Added Smith: “The way he thinks is different than a lot of managers. He doesn’t think very by-the-book. He’s going to play and think aggressively, and I think it’s going to help this team. It’s going to help bring out this team’s aggression and athleticism and also just make this team a dangerous, dynamic team to play against.”
Lindor, who this season begins his 10-year, $341 million deal with the Amazin’s, said he is looking forward to consistency in the manager’s office over the course of Showalter’s three-year Mets contract. Just in the past two years, the Mets have pedaled through four managers in quick succession: Callaway, Carlos Beltran, Rojas, and now Showalter.
Showalter helped Lindor flip his perception on the Mets fan base during one of their earliest conversations together. The shortstop last year brought up how often Mets fans booed him following his early-season slump in his first season in Queens. The love/hate relationship some Mets fans have for Lindor was something the shortstop struggled to grasp. This spring, however, Showalter told Lindor that fans are waiting to embrace him, and he just has to let them. That piece of advice made an impact on Lindor, who said: “It hit home. It was a different way of seeing things.”
Lindor continued: “Buck, he’s a good guy. He reminds me a lot of Tito (Cleveland manager Terry Francona). I’m very excited for the years to come having him as a manager.”
For many players, the excitement for the 2022 season starts at the top. Smith said Steve Cohen, the Mets owner who purchased the team in Nov. 2020 for $2.4 billion, being aggressive about his desire to win is a type of confidence that GM Billy Eppler and Showalter all share, and that determination has trickled into the clubhouse. “Buck’s been there, done that,” said Lugo. “When he talks, you listen.”
Showalter is also keeping the Mets accountable. Following a burst of flashy offseason moves, the 2022 Amazin’s are a blended group of veterans and a young core. Smith said Showalter’s immediate impact added a sense of professionalism and responsibility to the team. Those moments can happen when Showalter is energetic and involved in fielding and hitting drills. Showalter will want the players in one particular spot, and until they get it right, the drill isn’t over, Smith said.
“I think this whole team has loved this new change and we can all feel the difference,” said Smith. “We can feel the energy in here. I think it’s something that we feed off of on an everyday basis. It’s definitely fun and it’s definitely a different energy. With Buck at the helm and him leading us, I feel like there’s no better manager out there.”
