Before agreeing to sign with the Baltimore Orioles this week, Pete Alonso enlisted some advice from his former skipper, who spent his fair share of time in the organization.
During his introductory press conference on Friday, Alonso revealed that he spoke with former Orioles and Mets manager Buck Showalter and asked about his impressions of the franchise. Showalter told him, “Pete, you’re gonna absolutely crush this place [Camden Yards].”
Alonso signed a five-year, $155 million deal with the O’s this week after spending the first seven seasons of his career with the Mets.
Showalter, of course, managed the Orioles for nine seasons (2010-2018), guiding them to three playoff appearances (2012, 2014, and 2016) and one division title (2014); Baltimore’s most recent appearance in the ALCS came under Showalter’s watch. However, his tenure ended with back-to-back last-place finishes in the AL East in 2017 and 2018, including a disastrous 115-loss season in 2018 (a franchise-worst).
The 69-year-old also managed Alonso during his brief stint as the Mets’ manager during the 2022 and 2023 campaigns. Showalter led New York to its first 100-win season since 1988 in 2022, finishing with a 101-61 record, but the team only reached the NL Wild Card Series, which they lost in three games to the San Diego Padres. After the season, he was named the NL Manager of the Year.
Showalter’s stint in Flushing, though, ended on a sour note as the Mets finished with a disappointing 75-87 record in 2023. On the final day of the season, owner Steve Cohen announced that Showalter would not return as the Mets’ manager; New York would hire Carlos Mendoza as his replacement.
Despite Showalter’s tenure managing Alonso and the Mets ultimately not panning out, the baseball lifer still has an outstanding reputation as a skipper and fondly remembered by the Orioles organization. This was evident during Alonso’s press conference, who called Showalter one of his “all-time favorites” and had “beautiful” things to say about Baltimore.
The Orioles signing the 31-year-old is certainly a franchise-altering move, with president of baseball operations Mike Elias clearly not messing around when he promised to get a big bat to their young, promising lineup. Baltimore was also very much in play for Kyle Schwarber before he re-signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, and Elias quickly pivoted to Alonso afterwards.
Alonso’s 264 career home runs since 2019 are the third most in all of baseball, only behind Kyle Schwarber (268) and Aaron Judge (285). After reaching out to a manager who he’s played under in the past and also knows the Orioles’ organization very well, it seemed to be enough for Alonso to join the team for the foreseeable future; he will now try to lead the franchise to its first AL pennant and World Series championship since 1983.
