For the fifth time in six years, the New York Mets are in the market for a manager.
Buck Showalter was fired after a disappointing season in which baseball’s highest-spending team tumbled from contention by midsummer.
The 67-year-old Showalter said before the 2023 finale against Philadelphia that he will not return next year, and a few minutes later the Mets announced the club had decided on the change.
New York plans to introduce David Stearns as president of baseball operations on Monday, placing him above general manager Billy Eppler. Showalter’s departure with a season remaining on his three-year contract clears the way for Stearns to pick the next manager.
Showalter is 1,726-1,665 (.509) in 22 seasons as a big league manager with the Yankees, Diamondbacks, Rangers, Orioles and Mets — guiding all those organizations to the playoffs besides Texas.
He’s won four Manager of the Year awards — tied with Hall of Famers Tony La Russa and Bobby Cox for most all-time — and is the only skipper to win the prize with four different teams.
Showalter ranks 19th in major league history in wins, but Gene Mauch (1,902) is the only manager with more who never won a pennant.
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