Another side of Buck Showalter
Beyond his quick mind, baseball acumen and glossy managerial résumé, there is another part of Buck Showalter that Mets fans must know, Ramona Pence says. It’s the side that was an enormous comfort to Ramona and her husband, Wayne, after their daughter, Monica, died of lung cancer.
Monica Pence Barlow was the Orioles’ public relations director when Showalter managed in Baltimore, and the two became close. His first day on the job, en route to the news conference, Showalter asked Monica about her experiences being a woman working in a baseball clubhouse. If there were any issues, he stressed, she should come to him.
A mutual respect bloomed. They had a similar sense of humor. Neither, as the saying goes, suffered fools gladly.
“She was probably the only one not afraid to stand up to him on stuff,” Ramona said. “It was one of those partnerships that got stronger and stronger. She trusted and respected him. And he trusted how she handled the players.”
After a fight of four-plus years, Monica, a non-smoker, died on Feb. 28, 2014, during spring training. She was only 36 years old. Around that time, Monica and Showalter texted every night, Wayne said. “The night she died, she didn’t text him,” Wayne added. “He said he knew something was desperately wrong. It had quite an impact on Buck.”
Showalter and other members of the Orioles organization, including players, flew from Sarasota, Florida, to the Shenandoah Valley, near Harrisonburg, Virginia, for a visitation at the Pences’ church. Later, Showalter spoke glowingly — and hilariously — about Monica at a memorial service at Camden Yards, Ramona said, and he supported lung cancer charities.
On the anniversary of Monica’s death each spring, Showalter and the Orioles’ players wore orange Tshirts touting the LUNGevity Foundation, with the words “In Memory of Monica” on the front for pregame workouts.
Monica’s family bonded with Showalter and his wife, Angela, and it was a solace in an unimaginable time. “They did so much for us,” Wayne said. The family watched games with Angela in the manager’s box at Camden Yards. They still keep in touch.
Said Ben Barlow, Monica’s husband: “Buck and Angela are two of the best people I know and I am lucky to count them as friends.”
The news that Showalter got the Mets job was greeted with delight in the Shenandoah Valley because of Showalter’s connection to Monica. “He’s got a big fan base here,” Ramona said. “Everybody I know is thrilled.”
The 2018 season was Showalter’s final one in Baltimore. After his departure, a package arrived at the Pence’s house. Inside were two photos. “One was of a player pouring beer on Monica’s head when they won a playoff game,” Wayne said.
The other was a photo that Showalter had framed and hung outside the manager’s office at Camden Yards. In it, he and Monica were huddling. “It looked like he was frowning and it looks like she’s telling him what he got wrong in the press conference,” Ramona said.
Little things like that help keep Monica’s memory alive.
“The world needs to know — there’s a side to these managers and their families,” Ramona said. “They are caring people. I mean huge. And it’s not just monetary.
”Buck and Angela are the most down-to-earth people. They could come here on the farm and be just as comfortable as they would be at a Broadway play.
“They’re just real people.”
HERE’S TO YA …
We’d like to celebrate Roy White’s 78th birthday, which is Monday, by reminding everyone what a terrific player the switchhitting left fielder was with the Yankees from 1965-79. Over the length of his career, White had the 19thhighest
on-base percentage in baseball (.360) among players who appeared in at least 1,500 games. Ten Hall of Famers are ahead of him on that list. White also had a career OPS-plus of 121 and batted .271 with 160 home runs. He led the AL in walks (99) in 1972 and in runs (104) in 1976.
KEEP AN EYE ON …
Austin Wells, the Yankees’ first-round pick (No. 28 overall) in 2020. Wells, a left-handed hitting catcher, had an .867 OPS and 16 home runs in 103 games across two levels of Class A in 2021, his first pro season, and then notched a 1.034 OPS in 18 games in the Arizona Fall League. Wells, 22, attended Bishop Gorman, the same Las Vegas high school that produced Joey Gallo, and then played at Arizona. He’s hit everywhere he’s played, but two scouts from other organizations both said he’d have to improve defensively to stick behind the plate. “I think he’ll hit and eventually work his way to someone’s Major League roster,” said one scout. “Double-A will be a good test for him.”
CITYWIDE WOE
Both the Mets and Yankees struggled with runners in scoring position last season and those failures doubtless hurt their 2021 campaigns. The Mets finished 77-85 and out of the playoffs; the Yankees made the postseason, but since they were the second AL Wild Card, they had to travel to Boston and got whomped in the Wild Card Game by their bitter rivals. Ugh. Well, the 2022 season might hinge on whether both local clubs can improve their clutch work at the plate. The Mets ranked 25th in MLB in batting average with RISP (.238) last season, barely above the Yankees, who got to .238 thanks to rounding up. In OPS, the Mets (.704) were 26th while the Yankees (.699) sat 28th. Hey, it’s New York — come through in big situations already!