"Is this another one of those a**l things I get accused of?" - New York Mets manager had the most unusual response to being asked about his unique dugout alterations
Buck Showalter wants every detail perfect for his New York Mets. He loves his players, and he drives them to win in every way possible. For example, they've been getting hit with a lot of pitches to start the season. Showalter takes exception to every batter being hit, either by marching out of the dugout mid-game to discuss it with the umpire or by giving some snarky postgame quotes to the media.
Showalter is a perfectionist skipper, and now we've got an extra detail to back it up. In an article in "The Athletic," Andy McCullough and Ken Rosenthal highlighted one of Showalter's pet peeves, which he discussed with New York Mets general manager, Billy Eppler.
New York Mets skipper Buck Showalter had an interesting response to media questions about dugout alterations
Showalter had an issue with Citi Field's home dugout. Hardcore baseball fans will know that Showalter exclusively watches games from the top step of the dugout's right-side staircase, the one closest to home plate. Showalter had never had a problem with visibilty from this spot during his long tenure as skipper of the Baltimore Orioles. Evidently, the home dugout design at Camden Yards was up to Showalter's standards. But the one at Citi Field had a large piece of padding obstructing Showalter's view of right field. That wasn't going to fly with Showalter.
“There’s not a detail he doesn’t think about.”
“He loves to point out other teams messing up, I’ll tell you that."
“Everything’s interesting. Everything he says.”
Great piece from Andy and Ken on the attention to details that makes Buck Showalter who he is. twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/…
"'There’s not a detail he doesn’t think about.' 'He loves to point out other teams messing up, I’ll tell you that.' 'Everything’s interesting. Everything he says.' Great piece from Andy and Ken on the attention to details that makes Buck Showalter who he is." - @Jayson Stark
He pointed out the apparent flaw to New York Mets general manager, Billy Eppler. Eppler was humored by Showalter's complaint, but he obliged him. The Mets went on the road for thirteen days, and when they came back, Eppler had arranged for a solution: a three-step perch on which Showalter could stand to watch his team.
This is the kind of dedication MLB managers should show for the game. Showalter cares about his players. He's not letting anything get in his way, including vision-obstructing pieces of padding.
@searlebaseball This team is special and it starts with Buck Showalter.
"This team is special and it starts with Buck Showalter." - @ Herb Searle
Showalter had the most hilarious response when the New York Mets media asked him about his dugout perch.
“Is this another one of those a**l things I get accused of?” Showalter said. “If I can’t see the game, it’s kind of hard.”
Yes, Buck Showalter, we are accusing you of it, and we think it's amazing. It's the little things that make the biggest difference.