Buck Showalter rejoins MLB Network as a studio analyst
March 18, 2024 ¨C Four-time Manager of the Year Buck Showalter has rejoined MLB Network as an on-air analyst appearing across its programming. Showalter, who was part of MLB Network¡¯s on-air team from August 2020 through the 2021 season, will make his 2024 debut on the 6 p.m. ET edition of the Emmy-Award winning MLB Tonight on Monday, April 1.
¡°I enjoyed my time at MLB Network with people I know and respect, so when this opportunity came up, I couldn¡¯t say no,¡± said Showalter. ¡°There are many ways to analyze baseball, and I appreciate the different perspectives that come with working at the network. We all bring what we bring and it¡¯s very entertaining. The place is filled with smart, passionate people - who want to teach and grow the game, so I¡¯m excited to be back on the team.¡±
¡°We loved having Buck with us a couple years ago given his on-field expertise and years of baseball knowledge,¡± said Marc Caiafa, MLB Network Senior Vice President of Production. ¡°Having gone up against the new faces and stars of our game, and managing under the new on-field rules, Buck will only make our content stronger this season.¡±
In addition to Showalter, MLB Network recently announced that World Series champion and three-time All-Star pitcher Adam Wainwright has joined MLB Network as an on-air analyst.
Showalter most recently won the Manager of the Year Award with the New York Mets in 2022, becoming the only manager to win the award with four different franchises: New York Yankees (1994), Texas Rangers (2004), Baltimore Orioles (2014) and Mets (2022). Showalter turned the Mets from a 77-win team in 2021, to a 101-win club in 2022, marking the second-best record in Mets franchise history. Showalter compiled 1,727 wins in his 22 seasons as an MLB manager, including nine with the Orioles (2010-2018), four with Rangers (2003-06), three with the Arizona Diamondbacks (1998-2000) four with the Yankees (1992-95) and two with the Mets (2022-23). Showalter¡¯s 1,727 career wins rank 19th all-time in MLB history, and his 669 wins with Baltimore rank second all-time behind Hall of Famer Earl Weaver (1,480). For the first time since 1997, Showalter guided the 2012 Orioles to their first of three Postseason appearances, leading Baltimore to a 93-69 record. Following the 2012 Postseason appearance, Showalter led the Orioles to the American League Championship Series in 2014 before being named the AL Manager of the Year for the third time (2004 with the Rangers and 1994 with the Yankees). As the first manager in Diamondbacks history, Showalter¡¯s 1999 team made the Postseason for the first time, and his 1995 Yankees played in the Postseason for the first time in 14 years. Drafted in the fifth round of 1977 MLB Draft by the Yankees, Showalter would go on to spend 19 years in the organization, including three different managerial positions in the Minor Leagues, before joining the Major League coaching staff in 1990.