Buck Showalter managed the Yankees through 1995, so he never got to experience a Subway Series from the dugout until this year – but he’s no stranger to the intensity of the cross-town rivalry between the Yankees and Mets.
“Years ago we had the Mayor’s Trophy Game, and of course there was extra pressure,” Buck said to Carton & Roberts on Monday. “You knew the Boss, you knew there were a few games we had to win. When guys saw the spring schedule, they knew they’d be going to St. Lucie or Winter Haven (for the Mets and Red Sox), and when the Rays came in, that was big because George lived down there.”
For those who don’t remember the George Steinbrenner way, or think Buck was kidding…he’s not, as he recalled a time he got static for tending to his ailing son during an important rivalry game.
“I remember my son had something going on when he was seven or eight months old; I got a phone call my wife was taking him to the ER, and I left the game,” he said. “Before I left, (Steinbrenner) told me he had good medical people who would take care of it, and that I had to stay. I didn’t – and Gene Michael told me later that was the right move – but that was the first time I really butted heads with the owner. But I had to listen to my conscience and my wife, and it all worked out.”
Not quite how things will go Tuesday and Wednesday when the Mets and Yankees meet at Citi Field for the first portion of this year’s Subway Series, and while Mike Piazza said earlier Monday on Carton & Roberts that he thinks the rivalry has different energy these days, Buck is still taking it perhaps a little more seriously than the other 158 on the schedule.
“We’ve got a mature group, and the thing I stress to them is that if it’s important to the fans, it has to be important to you,” he said. “I remember the first time in college I played a real big road game against an arch rival; I was from a different state and didn’t understand what the hoopla was about, but when I got out to left field, it took me about 15 seconds to understand it. Our players grasp that we have a good relationship with our fans, and things go way back, so there’s not much middle ground here.”
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When he was given a few different options of how he would manage the games, Showalter joked “yes, all of the above” to Evan Roberts, then reiterating how important the games are to the fans.
If anything, Showalter is a little upset at the schedule timing: two games against the Yankees come in between days off, but the whole run comes just after the All-Star break’s four days off, and before a stretch of 14 games in 13 days after Thursday’s off day.
“We realize it’s another obstacle for us to get to where we want to get be, but for some reason, MLB gave us four days off and then two right after that,” Buck said. “We could really use them in August, but we’ll react accordingly.”
Oh, and there’s some gamesmanship at play already: we know it’s Jordan Montgomery vs. Taijuan Walker on Tuesday, but the Yankees haven’t yet named a starter for Wednesday (it could be either Gerrit Cole or Domingo German), so Buck won’t commit to Max Scherzer going on Wednesday until he finds out who the opponent is.
“I won’t say for sure, but we’re doing some work,” Buck said slyly. “When we get the Yankees’ starter Wednesday, we’ll make our decision. We’re not playing games, just being fair.”
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