Sadly, it’s easy to forget or lose excitement about one or more of the thrilling acquisitions owner Steve Cohen and new GM Billy Eppler made just a little while ago amidst the darkening cloud of this distasteful lockout. But when, not if (in the spirit of optimism) baseball returns, not only will we have Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, and other new additions to the roster, rotation, and bullpen, we’re going to have a bonafide sage veteran at the helm in manager Buck Showalter. 

Here are five reasons to be excited about Buck:

Gut Check

It’s no secret that baseball has trended more analytically over the past decade and beyond and that certainly includes the hiring of a manager. The rhetoric has been, you hire a manager who will convey the new age principles of the GM, even going as far as being handed a once sacred, now predetermined, lineup card. But Buck is no puppet. Fortunately, there are a few organizations that have turned back the clock with their recent choice of manager. The White Sox brought in Tony LaRussa and the Astros brought in Dusty Baker, both yielding positive results. Mets fans are over the moon in following this trend, bringing in an individual who has a reputation for knowing the nuances of the game and its players. 

In-Game Management

And what better place to use one’s gut instincts than in-game decision making. We’ve all heard the stories of front offices having scripts of who to use in the 7th inning or who to bat against their lefty specialist. With Showalter, the hope is that he’ll use his own savvy and judge the moment for just that, the moment. While predetermined analytics have admittedly proven worthy over large sample sizes, it’s certainly flawed in specific, intangible scenarios. Is it better to lay down a sac bunt? Should we juggle lefty/righty match-ups? The script says Brandon Nimmo is due for a rest day but should we start him since he’s coming off a 4 for 4 day the night before? This is where Buck’s intuition adds more value than your average 2022 yes-man.

Player Development

The development of an individual player generally takes place throughout the farm system. But the perennial contenders consist of players who improve while in the bigs. The once young and exciting core of position players has lost a lot of luster with the obvious regression of Jeff McNeil, Dominic Smith, J.D. Davis, and even former Met Michael Conforto. The hope is that Buck and his coaching staff can turn some of these trends around and get the most out of the guys already in the show. His knowledge and ability to communicate said knowledge to his clubhouse may prove invaluable.

Pressers

In some ways, Buck Showalter has amassed a script of quips worthy of at least a poor man’s Yogi Berra. Buck’s candor and one-liners have disarmed press rooms in Arizona, Texas, and most recently Baltimore. “He’s kind of gotten through the baby fat stage”, or, “I know the ‘save rule’. I like the ‘win rule’ better.” And while none of these markets bring the seething, bait-thirsty scribes of New York, Buck’s levity and realism should at the very least be entertaining.

Accountability

It goes without saying that the Mets organization volleys between self-inflicted, headline inducing gaffes, and unfortunate, unlucky moments made abundant on the tree of low hanging fruit. The common denominator? Culture. The hope is that the addition of Buck Showalter to the already new front office and ownership will provide a 180 to the multi-decade blooper reel. Buck brings an arsenal of high praise from worthy references attesting to this very piece. The hope is no more shenanigans. No more batting out of order. No dogging it to first. Everyone’s accountable, from the top down.