Phillies manager Joe Girardi and Mets manager Buck Showalter have a long and turbulent history
Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi and new New York Mets manager Buck Showalter have quite an interesting history.
The two New York Yankees managers-turned NL East managers’ careers have been intertwined for decades.
Showalter managed the Yankees from 1992-1995, but resigned after the 95 season rather than fire his hitting coach, Rick Downs. As a result, he and Joe Girardi were ships passing in the night; the Yankees acquired Girardi, then an All-Star catcher, for the 1996 season.
In 2007, Girardi turned down the Baltimore Orioles manager position, and it went to Showalter a few years later. Girardi then took Showalter’s former gig as Yankees skipper in 2008.
During a September 2013 game between the Yankees and Baltimore Orioles, Showalter began screaming at Girardi in the dugout. Girardi came back with words of his own, and the two skippers had to be restrained by umpires.
The Yankees parted ways with Girardi after the 2017 season; the Orioles did the same with Showalter the following year, when the team lost a franchise-record 115 games.
In 2019, Showalter and Girardi competed once again; this time, for the job of Phillies manager. We know how that turned out.
Girardi had to leave his analyst gig at MLB Network to manage the Phillies, and Showalter replaced him.
In 2022, the two longtime managers will share a division once again. They’ve left the AL East for the NL East, but will still play 19 games against each other, if the lockout doesn’t eat into the schedule. And this time, they’ll be managing in a real rivalry; after all, everyone knows the Orioles aren’t the Yankees’ biggest rivals.
This will be interesting.