Being the New York Mets manager has never been an easy task. It rarely promises a career of longevity, no matter how well you do. Most recently, Buck Showalter was fired one year after winning the National League Manager of the Year award.
New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns officially took over his new post on October 2nd. Hours prior to Stearns' arrival, the Mets parted ways with manager Buck Showalter, opening the door for Stearns and his new front office to hire their own dugout CEO.
The New York Mets have had more than their fair share of dysfunctional general managers throughout the years. From Joe McDonald allowing "The Franchise" Tom Seaver to be traded in 1977 to hiring Jared Porter, in between his inappropriate text messages to reporters, the Mets GM position has been anything but "Amazin'."
Over the past decade, the development of the daily line-up card, more importantly who's on it and where, has become more of an organizational decision, rather than one that sits solely with the team's manager. For a grizzled veteran skipper, like Buck Showalter, that has been a dooming change.
David Stearns took over the New York Mets on Monday, as their new president of baseball operations. Besides being force-fed general manager Billy Eppler by owner Steve Cohen, it appears that Stearns will have free rein.
New York Mets manager Buck Showalter is as disappointed as anyone regarding the team's performance in 2023. Coming off of a 101-win season and a Manager of the Year award, Showalter appeared to be the captain that would steer Steve Cohen's MLB yacht into the World Series. That excursion may be short lived.
It all started out so promisingly. The 2022 New York Mets jumped ahead to a 10.5 game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the National League East on June 1st. However, by the beginning of October of last season, that lead was gone and the rest is history. Manager Buck Showalter, once again, got his team close to a championship but lost in the process.
The very last hope of salvation from a future that involves Sandy Alderson said "no" to the New York Mets today. As reported by Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News and guest on The Drive with Charlie & Dan today, Mets owner Steve Cohen met with the free agent baseball executive star via Zoom this morning and quickly decided that the situation was not a match.