Paul Articulates – Why Buck was Manager of the Year

MLB and the Baseball Writers Association of America announced Tuesday that Buck Showalter has been named the Manager of the Year for the National League in 2022.  He beat out Dave Roberts of the Dodgers and Brian Snitker for the recognition.  It was a very close vote as all three managers did great things with their teams this year – over 100 wins apiece.

Here is why I think that Buck deserved to win the award.

1) Greatest improvement.  The 2021 Mets were 77-85 under Luis Rojas and that team was not one you would consider a tight team.  There was the big “thumbs down” controversy and some serious underperformance on the field.  Buck turned that upside down in a single year with not only 24 more wins, but a team that really seemed to like each other and their skipper.  The 2021 Braves won the world championship so there was not much to turn around and the 2021 Dodgers had 106 wins.  Both teams had consistent leadership and strong returning talent.  The 2019 teams had similar pedigrees.

2) A strategic approach.  There is a difference between strategy and tactics.  Strategy is the higher level approach to achieve the team goals (win a World Series, become perennial contenders …) and tactics are lower level actions that are executed to support the strategy.  So, for example part of the strategy to become perennial contenders was to develop team depth.  Buck did an outstanding job of building a culture that was about the team (not the individual) and then executed tactics like giving bench players active roles on the field very frequently so they maintained proficiency and contributed to team success.    This seems pretty straightforward, but if you look at prior Mets team, decisions seemed much more scattershot, lineups and playing time were less consistent, and you never got that feeling that everyone was rowing the boat in the same direction.

3) An unflappable demeanor.  Buck influenced his roster to take an even approach to the game.  This is extremely important because there are bad days in baseball, and if you let those days get to you, it perpetuates a downward spiral.  The Mets never spiraled downwards this year.  Their longest losing streak in 2022 was three in a row which happened a few times.  Most teams in most seasons have many more, longer losing streaks.  By the way, the Braves also had a few three-game losing streaks but none longer than that. Brian Snitker has a similar unflappable demeanor.

4) Established leadership.  There was no question that Buck was in charge.  You could see it in the dugout dynamics.  There were no arguments, but much communication and consultation.  He was always in conversation next to someone on his coaching staff or his field general Francisco Lindor.  His eyes never left the field during those conversations as he was constantly observing.  His coaching staff mirrored the demeanor.  There was much collaborate, probably a great deal of debate in the clubhouse, but when the team was on the field, Buck made the calls, and the players and staff executed.  This was more about respect than fiery directives, and that contributed to point 3.

5) Adaptability.  Buck is an old school guy.  He has been coaching/managing since before they built the school.  Yet he is not stuck in his ways.  He embraces the new technologies and analytical approach to the game and has used the information as well as his vast experience to inform his decision making.  I think this trait is very unique among baseball’s skippers.  Often when a team fails, they bring in a new manager that has the opposite approach – an analytic guy to replace the old school guy or vice versa just to change something that’s not working.  Buck’s approach adapts to the need and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that the Mets limited their down streaks.

Congratulations to Buck Showalter, the Manager of the Year and a leader that we hope will guide the Mets for many years to come.  Congratulations to the Mets’ leadership for bringing him to this team and giving them hope for a successful future.  Now let’s build out a roster that will get Buck a ring.