Mets team owner Steve Cohen made the announcement himself on Saturday afternoon, revealing via Twitter that Buck Showalter has been picked as the team's next manager.
"I'm pleased to announce Buck Showalter as the new manager of the New York Mets," Cohen tweeted, confirming the candidate that many regarded as the likeliest pick to replace Luis Rojas.
Showalter was the final interview of this week's process, as he spoke with Cohen on Friday, his second interview for the job. Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro and Astros coach Joe Espada, the other two finalists for the job, also interviewed this week. But the Mets have decided to go with Showalter, who brings 20 years of managerial experience with him.
According to Audacy MLB Insider Jon Heyman, Showalter will be signing a three-year deal, while the New York Post reports that the deal will be the richest in franchise history for a manager.
Showalter's managing career began in New York, with the crosstown rival Yankees in 1992. That team finished 10 games below .500, but one year later, the team finished 88-74, then reached the playoffs in 1995 after ending the strike-shortened 1994 season with the American League's best record. The 1995 Yankees coughed up a 2-0 lead in the ALDS to the Mariners, leading the Yankees to replace Showalter with Joe Torre before the 1996 season.
Showalter then took over the expansion Diamondbacks in 1998, finishing with a 65-97 record before a drastic turnaround in 1999, when the team finished with 100 wins. They took a step back in 2000, finishing with an 85-77 record before Showalter was fired. Once again, the team that let him go went on to win the World Series the following year.
After a mediocre four-year stint as manager of the Rangers, when the team finished between 70 and 89 wins each season (though he did win Manager of the Year in 2004), Showalter went on to manage the Orioles for nine seasons, experiencing the lows of a 115-loss season and the highs of a 96-win season that resulted in a trip to the ALCS in 2014. His last season with Baltimore, and as a major league manager, was in 2018.
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