The Buck Showalter Experience pulled into Queens on Saturday, when the Mets became the fifth team to hire Showalter as manager. He has guided the Yankees, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Texas Rangers and the Baltimore Orioles for more than 3,000 games, but the dugout cannot always contain him.
Once, before a game in Texas, Showalter met with a visiting television crew and told them how nice it felt to focus simply on managing. Then he talked about a potential trade the team could make. And a minor-league pitcher who needed to throw more changeups. And a way to change the pattern of the grass at the Rangers’ ballpark, so outfielders’ throws would skip faster to the plate.