In praise of … Buck Showalter

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/19/in-praise-of-buck-showalter-baltimore-orioles

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In the data-driven world of modern sport, the personality of the managers isn’t meant to matter as much as the results they get. But tell that to Manchester United supporters still mourning the loss of Alex Ferguson, or to fans of the Baltimore Orioles, the baseball team managed by Buck Showalter.

The Orioles were a superpower in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. But like Baltimore itself, the team went into long-term decline from 1998, enduring 14 dismal years of losses. Showalter, fired ignominiously by major league teams all over America, including the New York Yankees, had hung up his spikes and was working as a TV commentator when he was hired to turn around the worst team in baseball.

In the corniest Hollywood movie scripts, the washed-up manager puts together a team of misfits who win the big prize. And that’s exactly what Showalter has done after losing star players to injury and drug use, plugging the gaps with rookies and nobodies.

This week he inspired the Orioles to win the American League East title against the much vaunted Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Considering that the bookies in Las Vegas and the geeks with spreadsheets had predicted the Orioles would finish last, that’s a result.