Buck Showalter sitting next to his wife Angela in Mets blue as he’s announced as the next manager of the Mets feels like a long-time coming.

From the minute the organization announced Luis Rojas would not return for 2022, his name was floated as a candidate. Unlike some names – Wally Backman – Showalter had a real chance to land the Mets job.

The 65-year-old manager had sat away from the dugout he’s occupied for 20 seasons since 1992 and had a life on MLB Network as an analyst. It was unknown if he’d even want to manage again after the poor way things ended in Baltimore in 2018.

But if the Mets called him, Showalter said he’d listen.

“Yeah. I miss a lot of it, actually,” Showalter told The Athletic in October. “Well, certain aspects. You miss being part of a team. A group of all different departments, pulling on one rope. That’s always fun to be a part of.”

And now Buck is back.

Showalter signed on for three years as the manager of the Mets. His career has come full circle, starting and possibly ending in New York. In 1992 he took over a Yankees team at 35 years old. Back then he was still around the age of some of his players like the 31-year-old Don Mattingly or 35-year-olds Scott Sanderson and Steve Farr. Now the Mets’ oldest player is Max Scherzer at 37 and there’s a 28-year gap between them. That’s longer than Pete Alonso has been on this Earth.

Sometimes it’s not about knowing the guys on the field but the guys watching from above. Showalter has come to know team president Sandy Alderson and general manager Billy Eppler in his 30 years around the major leagues.

“I actually tried to hire him as manager of the Oakland A’s,” Alderson said. “He decided to go to Arizona.”

Alderson says a man like Showalter doesn’t remain as interesting a candidate if they haven’t been adaptable, or curious, or been able to evolve within the game.

Eppler and Showalter bonded over a mentor. Gene Michael, who did it all for the Yankees, worked with both of them in their respective stints in the Bronx. Michael would visit with Showalter when they’d play the Yankees and sing Eppler’s praises. Eppler and Showalter met when he interviewed for the managerial opening in Los Angeles a few seasons ago.

“I always had this respect for him,” Eppler said. “Getting a chance to sit and talk in more detail a few years back, I felt that connection and that common denominator of how we look at the world and the types of standards that we have in a highly competitive environment such as professional baseball.”

The goal of the Mets, and every baseball franchise really, is to win World Series titles. Not every team in baseball wants to compete for today. The Mets do.

“The job description is being the last one’s standing,” Showalter said.

In order to do that, Showalter will bring an extra set of skills to the Mets dugout that’s been missing from the last two hires.

New York has had their fair share of on-the-field distractions recently. Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil got into a physical altercation then refused to take responsibility. Javier Baez and other members of the team engaged in a thumbs-down celebration to protest booing fans.

Neither action would’ve been tolerated had Showalter been managing the team.

Accountability is the word he constantly preaches. Owning up to oneself’s mistakes. Showalter has done so. He personally apologized to every member of the Orioles in 2017 when he didn’t put Zack Britton in during the 2016 American League Wild Card game. He’s emphasized the individual is not greater than the team.

All of it leads to “Buck coming as close as anybody to being a 10-out-of-10 candidate,” Alderson said.

So what is a 10/10 candidate?

It means during the interview process Showalter blended well and was curious when talking to the inner groups of the Mets organization. According to Eppler, Showalter wanted to know from the sports science team, player development team, analytics team, and more how each thing they do gets the Mets closer to winning games.

Showalter’s known to be a player’s coach but also one who wants his hands involved across the org. He might have less autonomy than in the past with the growing size and depth of the Mets internal workings but his interest is a positive sign.

“We set up a lot of criteria. Connectivity with the players, ability to speak with the media, comfortable in New York, embracing a lot of tactics, getting involved with performance science, and someone who can mentor and grow coaching staff and staff around them,” Eppler said. “He checked every one of those boxes.”

And if he didn’t reach those boxes the Mets wouldn’t have hired him. It’s that simple. For once the Mets took the layup and hired the perfect fit for their current team.

Showalter couldn’t have done it by himself. He thanked the managers hired before him to give him possibly one final shot to get a team to the World Series.

Dusty Baker, Tony La Russa, and Joe Maddon are all older than Showalter. Without their successes, it’s possible Showalter would still be on MLB Network and not setting up his office at Citi Field. They proved that an old dog can sometimes learn new tricks.

The Mets have brand new energy around them in year two of the Steve Cohen era. They splashed in free agency, they splashed on a general manager hire, and now splashed on a manager choice.

Showalter has over 3,000 games managed and the hope is he’ll have at least 486 more to add to that total at the conclusion of the 2024 season.