The Mets, having missed the playoffs for the fifth straight year after a second half collapse, were in need of a change this offseason.
Not only did the team’s struggles continue on the field, but over the course of a calendar year, the team’s former manager in Mickey Callaway and the general manager in Jared Porter were both accused, and disciplined, for inappropriate behavior towards women, while interim general manager Zack Scott was arrested for drunk driving and put on administrative leave during the season.
With the franchise in need of a culture change, new manager Buck Showalter has arrived to try and make New York a winning and respected franchise once again, but he knows that kind of makeover won’t happen overnight.
“There’s no magic sprinkle dust,” Showalter said at his introductory press conference on Tuesday. “It’s about winning baseball games…everybody wants to use the word ‘culture,’ but that’s a multi-faceted word in my mind. There’s a lot of dynamic that go into that. Good players are part of it, and I think ownership is going to be very strong in that backing. But there’s another part of it where we have to take it and make it work. It’s gotta be a team.”
For Showalter, he also finds it important to remember that he is inheriting a club that doesn’t have to be gutted. Now retooled with the additions of Max Scherzer, Starling Marte and others, New York has upgraded a roster that already had potential cornerstone pieces, and he won’t be overseeing a complete makeover.
“I think one of the mistakes people make is when they come into a situation and think everything there isn’t good and needs to be changed,” Showalter said. “That’s a mistake, and that won’t be done. There’s some really quality people here that can be a part of it.
“I think slow down and don’t knee jerk. I purposefully try to have a clear mind about every player and trying to make up my own mind about things, but at the same time lean on people that I know more than I do.”
Showalter hasn’t been in a major league clubhouse in a managing capacity in over three years, and will be taking on a Mets challenge that included reported clubhouse fights between Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil, and a battle between the team and its own fans with the thumbs down gesture. But Showalter has no doubt that he will be able to reach his players, understand them and get them moving in the same direction towards on-the-field success.
“I'll know what music they're listening to,” Showalter said. “I'll know certain styles that they like, and I’m looking forward to it. “They might be surprised at some of the songs I'll be humming around the locker room.”
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