New York Mets hire longtime manager Showalter in effort to stop 2-year skid

NEW YORK — Buck Showalter is back on the bench in New York.

Nearly 30 years since making his name in pinstripes, Showalter has been hired as manager of the Mets as he returns to the Big Apple to take over his fifth major league team.

The former New York Yankees skipper replaces Luis Rojas, let go in early October following two losing seasons. Mets owner Steve Cohen announced the move Saturday afternoon on Twitter.

Showalter received a three-year contract, according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the length of the agreement had not been announced.

An official announcement from the club is expected in the next few days.

Showalter has managed more than 3,000 big league games over 20 seasons, giving the Mets an experienced bench boss for the first time since Terry Collins’ seven-year tenure ended after the 2017 campaign.

New York has been searching for solid leadership ever since — in the dugout and the front office.

Showalter certainly carries credibility, with a long history of turning around losing teams. No doubt that made him an attractive candidate to new Mets general manager Billy Eppler and the aggressive Cohen, who is spending freely on players and eager to win quickly since buying the bungling franchise in November 2020.

In addition to building a winner across town during the 1990s with the Yankees, Showalter has managed the Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles. He compiled a regular-season record of 1,551-1,517-1 (.506 winning percentage) from 1992-2018, winning three AL Manager of the Year awards and taking all his teams besides Texas to the playoffs at least once.