NY Mets: 4 experienced managers to consider hiring for 2022

Buck Showalter

One of the most experienced of the available options for the New York Mets, the former 3-time AL Manager of the Year Buck Showalter may be one of the club’s best candidates to take the reigns as manager heading into the 2022 season.

Showalter has 20 years of experience managing teams in the MLB, beginning his career with the New York Yankees in 1992 before moving onto the Arizona Diamondbacks from 1998 – 2000, the Texas Rangers from 2003-2006 and most recently, the Baltimore Orioles from 2010 – 2018.

Over his 20 year career in the MLB, Showalter has managed a grand total of 3069 games across the aforementioned 4 teams, winning 1551 of them, averaging out to a winning percentage of .506 for his career.

While that winning record may not initially seem very high, what is more important is the context of the teams he managed. In the case of the Yankees, Rangers and Orioles, Showalter inherited the teams coming off the back of losing seasons, but managed to turn them all around, leading them to winning records and playoff contention within his first 2 full seasons with each club.

In the case of the Diamondbacks, Showalter was their first manager after they were brought into the league as an expansion team, initially comprised of players acquired via an expansion draft. Despite this, after a rough first year, Buck lead them to a record of 100-62 in 1999, turning them from a band of misfits to serious World Series contenders in just 2 years.

Showalter has always had a reputation of being an old school manager, in addition to being brash and not afraid to get into a fight with both umpires and ownership, but one thing is undisputed. The man knows how to build teams and get the most out of his players.

Throughout his career, Showalter has created contenders out of last place teams, he has experience managing in the playoffs and is more than familiar with the New York market, dealing with the pressure from both the media and the fan’s high expectations.

Based on how this team has performed since their last trip of the playoffs in 2016, along with all the disorganization within the franchise’s front office, bringing in a manager of Showalter’s caliber and experience may be just the thing to get the New York Mets back on track.

Bruce Bochy

While Showalter is one option the Mets could pursue, there are several other experienced managers on the market, one of which is the 3-time World Series Champion and former NL Manager of the Year Bruce Bochy.

While Bochy did “retire” on his own accord following the 2019 season, as all baseball fans know, no one ever really retires from coaching in the MLB, and his name has been floated around the league a number of times to take the reins for several teams with managerial vacancies.

If Bruce is fielding calls and mulling a comeback after spending the last two seasons at home, the Mets would definitely be wise to reach out and see if they can tempt him back to the game.

Funnily enough, Bochy has a prior link to the New York Mets, as he served as backup catcher for the franchise for part of the 1982 season. For him to come back to lead the team as its manager 40 years later would simply be poetic.

One of the most accomplished managers of the current century, Bochy has a total of 25 years experience managing in the MLB, with 12 years under his belt from 1995 – 2006 with the San Diego Padres, and 13 years with the San Francisco Giants.

Bochy is best known for his time as a member of the Giants, as over his 13 years stint with the club, he successfully managed to 3 World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014.

For his career, Bochy has managed a total of 4032 games, sporting a record of 2003 – 2029, resulting in a career winning percentage of .497. While that record for his career is technically negative, that doesn’t take away from Bochy’s success and talent.

Over his 25 years in the league, he has lead his teams to 8 separate trips to the postseason and was instrumental in the development of many of the young player he managed, such as Buster Posey, Madison Bumgarner, and Brandon Crawford.

Given that the Mets roster has a young core of talent in need of an experienced manager to help mold them and the fact that it is very rare for a 3-time World Series Champion manager to be available on the open market, Bruce Bochy is an option the team would be fools not to consider.

John Farrell

Speaking of former World Series champion managers, another one who remains on the market is John Farrell, who famously lead the Red Sox to the series back in 2013.

For his career, Farrell is far less experienced than both Showalter and Bochy by a wide margin, as while they each have 20+ years in experience in the league, he only has 7 years as a manager in Major League Baseball under his belt. However, he accomplished quite a bit in that time.

Originally a pitcher in the MLB, Farrell spent a total of 9 seasons between the Indians, Angels and Tigers before retiring following the 1996 season. Since retiring, he continued to remain in and around baseball, becoming a college coach and joining the Indians’ front office before being hired as pitching coach for the Red Sox prior to the 2007 season.

Farrell held that position through the 2010 season before being hired as the manager for the Toronto Blue Jays. Farrell managed Toronto for 2 years before the Red Sox made a deal with the Blue Jays to bring in Farrell back to Boston to become manager prior to the 2013 season.

As mentioned, Farrell’s first season in Boston resulted in him leading the club to a 97 – 65 season, securing the AL East Pennant and a World Series Championship. After regressing and having two losing seasons in 2014 and 2015, Farrell’s Sox rebounded in 2016, winning 93 games and finishing first in the AL East, but lost in the divisional series of the playoffs.

In 2017, Farrell once again lead the Red Sox to a Pennant after going 93-69, but once again were eliminated in the divisional round of the playoffs. Following this, the Red Sox very surprisingly parted ways with Farrell after 5 season.

In his 5 years with the Red Sox, Farrell won 3 AL East Pennants and a World Series Championship. Not too shabby given his limited managerial experience. Since then, he joined the Cincinnati Reds organization as a scout in 2018, while also appearing as an analyst for ESPN and FOX.

While he hasn’t managed in the MLB in a few seasons, there’s no denying that Farrell had quite a bit of success in his limited time as a member of the Red Sox.

With a World Series under his belt, multiple pennants and 3 separate 90+ win season over the course of his 7 years managing teams at the Major League level, if he is interested in making a return, the Mets should certain inquire into obtaining his services heading into 2022.

Paul Molitor

While the first 3 entries on this list are more well known for their careers as managers, the Hall of Famer Paul Molitor is far better known for his 21 seasons as of one of the MLB’s premier hitters. However, he is also an intriguing candidate to fill the Mets’  managerial vacancy.

During his time as a player as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins, Molitor enjoyed a fruitful career, being named to the All-Star Game 7 times, winning 4 Silver Slugger awards, and was a member of the 1993 World Series Champion Blue Jays, even being named the MVP for that year’s series.

Molitor hung up his cleats following the 1998 season and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004, but despite this, his life in baseball was far from over. Immediately following his retirement, he became the bench coach for the Twins for the 1999 season.

He continued his career as a coach in various positions at both the major league and minor league level, mostly with the Twins organization, until he was hired to become manager for the Major League Club prior to the 2015 season.

As the Twin’s skipper, Molitor inherited a team that had had a losing season each of the previous 4 years. In his first season, he lead the Twins to a winning year, sporting an 83-79 record, and in 2017, his third year as manager, won them 85 games and lead them to their first playoff berth since 2010.

The Twins were eliminated from the playoffs in the wildcard game, but Molitor’s efforts earned him the 2017 AL Manager of the Year award. However, in 2018, the Twins took a step backward and finished the year 78- 84, prompting Minnesota to part ways with Molitor that off-season.

Over his 4 years in Minnesota, Molitor managed 648 games with a record of 305-343, giving him a winning percentage of .471.

Despite this mixed bag of results in his 4 years, Molitor showed flashes of the manager he could be, turning a struggling team into a contender in a very short time and being named “Manager of the Year” in just his third year as a skipper.

Beyond that, as a player, he understood better than anybody what it takes to be a great hitter in the league, and given the Mets’ struggles at the plate in 2021, bringing in a great baseball mind like Molitor’s could be just what the Mets need to improve their offense moving forwards.

Along with an impressive start to his career as a manager and his reputation as a player, while Molitor may not be everyone’s first thought to fill the Mets’ managerial vacancy, he certainly could be an interesting choice to consider.

Want your voice heard? Join the Rising Apple team!

Write for us!

Who do you think the Mets should hire to be their next manager?