Buck Showalter is no longer the Mets manager after leading one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history in 2023, though not all of the team’s struggles were due to the manager.
For example, the Mets were ravaged by injuries, starting before the season with superstar closer Edwin Diaz going down with a season-ending knee injury.
But one area where Showalter drew heavy criticism was for the lack of retaliation or emotion as his players were consistently plunked for the second straight season under his watch. In 2022, New York set a league record for HBPs in a season, and in 2023, the drillings continued, specifically to Pete Alonso, who was hit a league-high 21 times.
Asked why the Mets never retaliated, Showalter pointed to the lack of intent by the opposing pitchers, even the rival Braves when they plunked the Mets five times in one game in Atlanta.
“Nobody was more frustrated about it than me,” Showalter said. “You as a manager have to think about the reality of the situation…we talked about it all year the last two years in our pregame meetings. You have to look at things realistically. Was he intentionally trying to hit him? Then you reach a point, ‘Does it matter anymore?’ it had been happening so much.
“You’re the one responsible…it’s a hard road to navigate for a manager. I don’t go up and tell somebody, ‘I want you to hit this guy,’ and then all of a sudden, he’s supposed to hit him in the calf or thigh, and it gets away from him and hits him in the head, and you’re the one responsible for it…you gotta think through it before you emotionally react.”
As for why the Mets were hit so many times, Showalter pointed to the nature of pitching in modern baseball, where velocity and movement is king, which leads to a downtick in control. So, even if it looks intentional after a while, it usually is not.
“The way they’ve cracked down on the sticky stuff, I think the biggest problem is the lack of command,” Showalter said. “These guys are chasing velocity all the time, and through it, they’ve lost a lot of command. You see guys get hit with breaking balls and changeups, and you see guys get mad. What was the intent of the pitcher?”