Buck Showalter, the on-field architect of three Orioles playoff teams over five years and a lifelong baseball man who instilled a winning culture in a team long used to losing, will not return to the team as manager or in any capacity next season.
With his contract expiring at the end of October, Showalter ended this season uncertain of his future with the team. But he walked into the B&O Warehouse at Camden Yards on Wednesday morning and met with Orioles executive vice president John Angelos and ownership representative Louis Angelos, according to an industry source, and was told he wouldn't be returning as manager.
Team ownership met with Showalter, 62, late last week to discuss his future, and a variety of other roles within the organization were discussed, according to the source. But talks about another potential role never progressed Wednesday. Showalter flew back to his Dallas home, where he usually spends the offseason, Wednesday afternoon.
Showalter, who was hired in August 2010, said this past weekend that he was "at peace" with a decision he seemed to expect the club's ownership to make after the worst season in franchise history. The Orioles went 47-115 in 2018, one of the worst records in baseball history.
Because this season was so historically bad _ and the Orioles made it clear since the All-Star break that the team was heading in a different direction, trading pending free agents and controllable players _ Showalter wasn't expected to return as manager.
He went into the final week of the season not knowing his fate and the club's ownership was still mulling whether Showalter would have a role in the team's rebuild, either in the dugout or the front office. When Showalter met with ownership last week, a variety of roles were discussed, including high-ranking positions within the front office, according to the source.
The decision to part ways with Showalter is the first of several organizational moves the Orioles must make this offseason. Executive vice president Dan Duquette's contract ends Oct. 31, and while ownership liked the way he executed July's deadline deals and he has already begun assessing the club for 2019, there's been no guarantee he returns. It's also unclear where ownership sees the front-office role of vice president of baseball operations Brady Anderson, who has gained significant influence over the past several seasons.
Had he not returned to the dugout, Showalter's greatest asset to the organization might have been as a visible high-ranking front-office figure with Major League Baseball. It was a consideration, and the source indicated Showalter was open to at least one front-office position.
Ownership has been in transition this year as managing partner Peter Angelos ceded day-to-day control to his sons John and Louis, and the club enters the offseason in need of a point man. The Orioles are in the middle of a long-running feud with the Washington Nationals and MLB over Mid-Atlantic Sports Network rights fees heading into a November arbitration hearing, and there are questions about who is calling the shots with the club.
Additionally, Showalter's relationship with Duquette has long been rocky, something that was overshadowed when the team was winning. But as the team struggled, their partnership seemed to become more fractured, to the point where it would be difficult for both men to stay in the organization while holding such influence.
Showalter took over an Orioles team at the tail end of 14 straight losing seasons in 2010. In 2011 _ Showalter's first full season as manager _ the Orioles lost 93 games but finished 22-16, ending the year with a Game 162 win over the Boston Red Sox that helped knock them out of postseason contention. That finish served as a springboard to a playoff berth in 2012, when the Orioles defeated the Texas Rangers in the American League wild-card game before losing to the New York Yankees in the AL Division Series, the first of three trips to the postseason over a five-season span.
Showalter was AL Manager of the Year in 2014 after leading the Orioles to a division title and bringing them to the AL Championship Series, where they were swept by the Kansas City Royals.
His last playoff appearance is perhaps his most ignominious. With closer Zach Britton still available, Showalter sent starter Ubaldo Jimenez out of the bullpen in the 11th inning of the 2016 wild-card game against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Orioles lost on a walk-off home run, and try as they might, the same winning feeling never returned to Baltimore.
The 2017 Orioles started hot, hovered around .500 for most of the summer, and then surged into the playoff chase in August before collapsing in September, finishing 75-87 for their first losing season since 2011.
A 2018 season that was defined by uncertainty from the moment the team reported to Sarasota, Fla., for spring training was tanked by it. In addition to Showalter and Duquette being in the last year of their contracts, so were former All-Stars Manny Machado, Britton, Adam Jones and Brad Brach.
As the losses mounted in the first half of the season, all but Jones from that group were traded by the All-Star break, joined by Jonathan Schoop, Kevin Gausman and Darren O'Day. The trades signaled an organizational change in philosophy. At the time, Duquette said the team would be focusing resources toward scouting and player development as opposed to the major league roster. While who will run that aspect of the Orioles' rebuild isn't publicly settled, Showalter's time with the team is finished.
Regarded throughout the game as one of the best managerial minds in baseball, Showalter had his longest big league tenure in Baltimore _ parts of nine seasons _ and his 669 wins with the Orioles trail only Earl Weaver's 1,480 for most in franchise history.
Showalter also shared a unique bond with Baltimore. He embraced the city's blue-collar mentality by instilling an "us against the world" mentality in the clubhouse. Showalter embraced the franchise's proud history and longtime Orioles fans saw a modernized version of Weaver in Showalter.
Despite that success and longevity with the Orioles, a World Series title, which hasn't been won in Baltimore since 1983, eluded Showalter, who previously managed the Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks and Rangers in his 20-year managerial career. Showalter hasn't ruled out a potential return to the dugout.
He is the Orioles' longest-tenured manager under Angelos. Since taking over the Orioles in 1993, Angelos went through nine skippers through his first 18 years as owner before hiring Showalter.
