Buck Showalter’s NL Manager of the Year award marks Mets’ first

For the first time in franchise history, the Mets have a Manager of the Year.

For the manager himself, it’s nothing new.

Buck Showalter was named the National League Manager of the Year on Tuesday, beating out the Dodgers’ Dave Roberts and the Braves’ Brian Snitker in a vote by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

It marked the fourth time and fourth team with which Showalter has won the award, with his previous three honors coming in the American League — the 1994 Yankees, 2004 Rangers and 2014 Orioles. He joined Tony La Russa and Bobby Cox as the only managers to win the award four times, though Showalter is the only one to have won it with four different teams.

“The first feeling I have is what an organizational recognition it is,” Showalter said on a conference call Tuesday night. “From ownership to the front office to all the people that go into it, and to the fans who supplied so much of the energy that our team fed off of this year. Now the challenge ahead of us is to do it again and to sustain some things that everybody allowed us to be a part of. I’m hoping, and rightfully so, that it’s something that everybody takes great pride in because it is a recognition of the organization as a whole.”

Showalter received eight of the 30 first-place votes, 10 second-place votes and seven third-place votes for 77 points. Roberts also earned eight first-place votes but got only four second-place votes and five third-place votes for 57 points. Snitker came in third with 55 points.

“This is a well-deserved honor,” Mets owner Steve Cohen said in a statement. “There is no doubt Buck had the players’ respect and they played hard for him. He is one of the sharpest minds in the game and he builds a winning culture.”

During his first year in Queens, after replacing Luis Rojas, the 66-year-old Showalter guided the Mets to 101 wins — the second-most in franchise history, behind only the 1986 World Series-champion team. The 2022 Mets had the highest payroll in baseball but got only 34 starts combined from co-aces Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer because of injuries.

Still, Showalter’s crew spent most of the year leading the NL East before the Braves overtook them when they squared off in the penultimate series of the regular season. The Mets then fell to the Padres in a three-game NL wild-card round series, the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 2016.

Showalter, in his 21st season as an MLB manager, gave the Mets an edge with his attention to detail and deep knowledge of the rulebook. His calm demeanor and wealth of experience also proved valuable during the ups and downs of the season as he consistently looked to take the pressure off his players.

Leading a roster that featured a mix of veterans and younger players, Showalter provided a buttoned-up approach to an organization that has had to deal with plenty of off-the-field issues in recent years. His no-nonsense attitude, while keeping the focus on baseball, helped establish a new culture for the Mets.

“Every situation I’ve been in, it’s been different,” Showalter said. “One common thing I’ve tried to maintain is that when you come into a new situation, not everything there is wrong or bad. There’s a lot of great things in place and that was really true here. When I came in, there’s a lot of people, including Luis Rojas and the things they did along the way to make my path easier. Realizing there were some things that ownership allowed us to do and a lot of people that had a hand in it.”

Before Showalter finally got them off the schneid, the closest the Mets had come to having a Manager of the Year was when Davey Johnson finished second in 1984 and 1986, and then Willie Randolph did the same in 2006.

The American League Manager of the Year was also a repeat winner, as Guardians boss Terry Francona took home the award for a third time.