After plowing through three consecutive rookie managers since the middle of the last decade, the Baltimore Orioles decided to try something different this time, hiring former New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers manager Buck Showalter on Thursday. The hiring was not official, but was confirmed by a source familiar with the negotiations; Showalter, who reportedly was signed through 2013, could be introduced at a news conference in Baltimore on Monday, and his first game will be Tuesday.
Showalter, 54, hasn't managed in the big leagues since 2006, but he has a career record of 882-833, two manager of the year awards and a reputation as both a sharp baseball mind and a micro-manager whose attention to detail is perhaps unparalleled.
Those attributes may be much-welcomed in Baltimore, where the Orioles, once one of baseball's flagship franchises, have become an industry joke. The franchise has endured 12 consecutive losing seasons, with No. 13 shaping up as perhaps the worst yet. The Orioles have the majors' worst record and were just 2-11 since the all-star break entering Thursday night's game at Kansas City.
Showalter, who has spent most of the past three years as an analyst for ESPN, had a hand in turning around the fortunes of each of the previous three teams he managed. In New York, for example, the Yankees had gone 14 years without a playoff appearance before he took them to the AL wild card in 1995.
None of the Orioles' last three full-time managers -- Lee Mazzilli (2004-05), Sam Perlozzo (2005-07) and Dave Trembley (2007-10) -- had big-league managing experience when they were hired. In all, Showalter will be the 10th Orioles manager since Peter Angelos bought the franchise in 1993.
Showalter, 54, hasn't managed in the big leagues since 2006, but he has a career record of 882-833, two manager of the year awards and a reputation as both a sharp baseball mind and a micro-manager whose attention to detail is perhaps unparalleled.
Those attributes may be much-welcomed in Baltimore, where the Orioles, once one of baseball's flagship franchises, have become an industry joke. The franchise has endured 12 consecutive losing seasons, with No. 13 shaping up as perhaps the worst yet. The Orioles have the majors' worst record and were just 2-11 since the all-star break entering Thursday night's game at Kansas City.
Showalter, who has spent most of the past three years as an analyst for ESPN, had a hand in turning around the fortunes of each of the previous three teams he managed. In New York, for example, the Yankees had gone 14 years without a playoff appearance before he took them to the AL wild card in 1995.
None of the Orioles' last three full-time managers -- Lee Mazzilli (2004-05), Sam Perlozzo (2005-07) and Dave Trembley (2007-10) -- had big-league managing experience when they were hired. In all, Showalter will be the 10th Orioles manager since Peter Angelos bought the franchise in 1993.
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