Buck Showalter is officially out as Mets manager. In case you haven’t already read it, Steve Cohen shared his thoughts on the decision. We here at Metsmerized shared our thoughts as to whether or not Buck should be fired back in June. Now that we know it’s official, we wanted to share our reactions, too.

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Andrew Steele-Davis

I’m split on this. I get and agree with David Stearns wanting to bring his own guy in. New sheriff in town, and a chance to hit the reset button and wipe the slate clean. That all makes perfect sense. However, I don’t like the fact that Buck Showalter is getting blamed for what went down in 2023. Sure, he has warts as a manager and he made mistakes this year, but Billy Eppler deserves to carry the biggest can for what was just an absolute dumpster fire of a year. And I think it is also telling that this team didn’t completely mail it in under Showalter – that is testament to his standing within that clubhouse. There were a slew of things that happened this year that were out of Buck’s control, and he proved in 2022 that he can still impact winning at the highest level. I’m sorry to see him go, and I hope he gets another shot to manage in 2024. The Mets are a better organization for having had Buck Showalter at the helm.

Rich Sparago

This is a case where multiple things are true. The disaster that was the 2023 season is not Buck’s fault. He was given a flawed team with unrealistic expectations. He had a sub-par bullpen (being kind), aging starting pitchers, and no answer at DH to name a few of the team’s shortcomings. The team was shredded at the deadline, which led to an unacceptable amount of noncompetitive play.

However, the Mets are going in a new direction, one of youth, and Buck is not the right man to lead a team constructed that way. He was brought in to lead veterans to the promised land, and it did not happen. Now, a new voice is needed, one that can relate to younger players, so it’s also true that a move had to be made.

One more thing to add. Something changed about Buck this year. It was more apparent after the deadline. He seemed to be unhappy and going through the motions. For whatever reason, that is absolutely unacceptable. He was disinterested, and the team seemed to follow suit. That culminated on August 25, when all but Tim Locastro did not know how many outs there were. For a man who had built is reputation on preparation and attention to detail, what the heck was that? It had the smell of a manager who had checked out, and the team seemed to follow along. Buck is a baseball lifer, and it’s a shame he may never see a championship. Good luck to him if he stays actively in the game.

Mike Mayer

It wouldn’t make sense to give David Stearns the full baseball reins and immediately force him to start with a lame duck manager coming off two disappointing seasons.

Buck certainly made a positive impression in his first camp and much of the 2022 season went according to plan, but it’s been all downhill since September of last season and when expectations are so high, that’s going to fall on the manager quite often.

Now Stearns gets to choose the manager he wants to run his organization through and make sure their philosophies align.

Allison Waxman

It’s hard not to think about where the Mets were just a year ago today. Is Buck solely responsible for both outcomes? Absolutely not. He’s unfortunately a casualty in Steve Cohen’s endgame, but I think he’s always known his time in Queens was limited. It’s no secret Cohen wanted Stearns. It’s the worst kept secret in MLB since Cohen bought the Mets. With new leadership comes change from top to bottom, so it’s real no surprise this is the outcome. This is just the start of a slew of changes to come for the Mets. But something to keep in mind: the end goal is to find who works.

They believe Stearns is their guy. The rest will fall into place naturally from there.

Matt Mancuso

The first indication that Buck’s seat on the 2024 Mets was uncertain was a few weeks ago, when the Mets cleaned house in the front office. Now, New York has made the unspoken spoken.

While he was a memorable manager, it makes logical sense for David Stearns to bring in a hand-picked skipper, one that’s more in align with his modern philosophies. It’s been reported that Buck was a no-nonsense player’s manager, one that communicated well through the clubhouse. As they transitition to a more computerized front office, a leader excelling in those areas will be a necesity.

David Stearns just made his first notable move in Queens. More will follow.

Jorge Eckhardt

It’s really as simple as, when you bring in a new president of baseball operations, he gets the right to bring in his own staff. Stearns wants a different manager, so he gets a different manager. If Buck stayed, that would have been totally fine. But his departure makes sense. It’s unfortunate, it would have been nice to see Buck get a chance to take this team deep in the playoffs (maybe he did in 2022), but that’s how the cookie crumbles.

John Sheridan

When Steve Cohen purchased the team, the Mets were very apparent they were looking to move to the forefront of analytics and scouting. To that end, hiring Buck Showalter hiring was a curious decision.

We could discuss ad nauseum about what went right or wrong during Buck’s tenure. No matter where you fall, we should all be able to agree Buck never evolved from the manager he always was.

That was not the type manager you want to lead what you hope is an analytically driven franchise. It was not the type of manager David Stearns wanted leading his team.

Love Buck, hate Buck. The right move was to get a manager who aligns with the vision for the franchise.

Johnluke Chaparro

Business is cruel and impersonal but don’t let the forcing out of Buck Showalter tarnish any impact he’s had on this team in the two seasons he was here. In Cohen’s vision to bring credibility and stability amongst the franchise, Buck was the perfect man for the job. The players and fans all took to him and his role in the 2022 101-win season shouldn’t be ignored. We can harp on some of his decision making at times but no manager is perfect. His two seasons as Mets manager, albeit short, was incredibly impactful in bringing credibility to a team on the rise.

While I’m excited to see what Stearns brings to the table, I’m also slightly bit torn seeing Buck go amidst the circumstances. Next man up will be exciting for sure but it would have been nice to see Buck get one more go around with a vastly improved roster.

Christian De Block

Personally, I was not surprised that the organization decided to go in a different direction, although the timing of the announcement certainly caught me off guard in the moment. Then again, the San Francisco Giants did something very similar with Gabe Kapler earlier this week, so it has happened before.

Buck Showalter led the Mets to a 101-win season in 2022, which should not be taken away from him. But the team fell short in September, which bled into their postseason exit against the San Diego Padres. While the players underperformed during that stretch, it was always going to fall on the shoulders of the manager.

The 2023 season had plenty of bumps in the road, many of which had nothing to do with Showalter. But at the end of the day, the expectation was to be in contention for a World Series, even though the big league roster had holes.

With David Stearns in as president of baseball operations, it makes sense that Steve Cohen is giving him the freedom to choose the right man for the job. Showalter has been a successful manager for quite some time, but this season made it clear the Mets needed a change at the position.