the power to shine

Among the words of wisdom attributed to Buck Showalter is this tidy catchphrase: “You have to be brilliant at the basics.” As it applies to baseball, that’s an absolute. And most of Showalter’s teams have been brilliant at the basics, including his 2014 Baltimore club, which won the American League East in a runaway and earned the former Mississippi State star his third manager of the year award. Showalter never played in the major leagues, but he was a better player than some might realize. At State in 1977, he set a single-season batting average record when he hit .459. The New York Yankees thought enough of Showalter’s skills to draft him in the fifth round. He hit .294 as a minor leaguer, but the Yankees had other plans for him. He became a minor league manager in their system in 1985 and by 1990 was on the big-league coaching staff. He took the reins as manager in 1992. Over 16 seasons, his MLB managerial record is 1,259-1,161, a solid .520 winning percentage, and he has now won three manager of the year awards (in 10-year increments, oddly enough). He hasn’t had much postseason success: 9-13 overall in four appearances. Showalter, 58, might need a World Series crown to garner Hall of Fame consideration, and the Orioles might have the talent to deliver one in the next couple of years. If that does happen, brilliance at the basics will be the underlying reason.