Baltimore Orioles: Musings on a Showalter extension

According to Roch Kubatko of MASN, the Orioles and manager Buck Showalter have a mutual interest in signing a contract extension for Showalter to remain in the Orioles’ dugout after the 2013 season. Before I get into that, I knew that Showalter had knee surgery immediately after the Orioles lost to New York in the ALDS, but I didn’t know that it was a complete knee replacement. Best wishes to Showalter as he moves through his recovery process.

Courtesy of John Munson/THE STAR-LEDGER via US PRESSWIRE

As for the contract extension, the good news is that there’s a mutual interest on both sides. In my view, the O’s have a pretty good thing going with Buck in the dugout. Similar to a potential free agent player, the Orioles are the only team that can negotiate with Showalter right now given that he’s still under contract (through the 2013 season). One would think that there might be a few teams that have seen what he’s done with this Baltimore Orioles franchise and might be interested in his services if they were available. So why give them the option to bid, and at the very least drive the price up for the O’s? Realistically, I think it’s fairly rare for a manager to fulfill his contract only to immediately sign with another team. Most importantly, Showalter seems to like Baltimore and he appears to want to stay here for as long-term as a manager can stay in one place.

The Orioles appear ready to negotiate a deal once Showalter is able to travel with his knee situation being what it is. We’ll get more into this as the off season goes on, however the Orioles and Showalter appear to be a match made in heaven. They’ve been perfect for each other at the point in their respective histories/lives that they became juxtaposed. The O’s of course were a franchise that was struggling to stay above water, and Showalter was a journeyman manager who had worn out his welcome in three other places before coming here. So I think that both sides are at a point in their respective journeys where they appreciate the other more as a result of their past.