Buck Showalter

[HaggardDawg]

Heard him speak at the Mississippi College Athletics banquet last night. First off we should be proud to have that guy as an alum because he obviously loves MSU, to the point it was kind of awkward since it was an MC event.

Few things to note i found interesting in his talk and Q&A:

1. Someone asked him if he tried to get Brian McCann on trade when McCann left NYC. He said he tried but he was too expensive and what was interesting is that he said Brian?s father Howie played 2B at MSU when Buck was here. Never knew that.

2. He was asked if he?d ever consider coaching in college. His response was interesting. He said he was visited by our AD staff after Polk retired to gauge his interest. He was unclear whether this was after Polk 1 or Polk 2. He told them he knew his limitations and was unsure how he?s do at the college level. He told them he?d want a full time academic advisor, they said DONE. He said, well, I?ll also need a full time recruiter because i don?t know recruiting, they said DONE. It doesn?t sound like they ever officially offered him the job but he said had they offered it would have been hard to turn down and would have been a lot of fun.
3. He talked about Mariano Rivera when Buck was with the Yanks. When they called him up, they didn?t think he could be a starter in the bigs because he only had one pitch in his arsenal, his infamous cutter. He said they almost moved him to center field because in Bucks words ? Mariano would have been the best outfielder on the team?. Said he was obviously glad they decided to put him in the bullpen.

I could have listened to his stories and inside knowledge on players for hours.

[Brahmabull]

I was also there. Buck was really good. Very candid and hit on a number of topics from past players to current and a little on what it was like coaching when the Baltimore riots were occurring.

[shoeless joe]

I remember watchin rivera's first game. He started a game against the white six in 95 I believe and it was on WGN. I just recall being unimpressed but don't really remember anything specific about the game.

[Tbonewannabe]

Heard him speak at the Mississippi College Athletics banquet last night. First off we should be proud to have that guy as an alum because he obviously loves MSU, to the point it was kind of awkward since it was an MC event.

Few things to note i found interesting in his talk and Q&A:

1. Someone asked him if he tried to get Brian McCann on trade when McCann left NYC. He said he tried but he was too expensive and what was interesting is that he said Brian?s father Howie played 2B at MSU when Buck was here. Never knew that.

2. He was asked if he?d ever consider coaching in college. His response was interesting. He said he was visited by our AD staff after Polk retired to gauge his interest. He was unclear whether this was after Polk 1 or Polk 2. He told them he knew his limitations and was unsure how he?s do at the college level. He told them he?d want a full time academic advisor, they said DONE. He said, well, I?ll also need a full time recruiter because i don?t know recruiting, they said DONE. It doesn?t sound like they ever officially offered him the job but he said had they offered it would have been hard to turn down and would have been a lot of fun.
3. He talked about Mariano Rivera when Buck was with the Yanks. When they called him up, they didn?t think he could be a starter in the bigs because he only had one pitch in his arsenal, his infamous cutter. He said they almost moved him to center field because in Bucks words ? Mariano would have been the best outfielder on the team?. Said he was obviously glad they decided to put him in the bullpen.

I could have listened to his stories and inside knowledge on players for hours.

He obviously loved running around the outfield since he shagged fly balls in the outfield before every game. I think he was one of those guys that could have played multiple positions if he wasn't sooooo good as a closer.

I worked with a guy who knew Howie McCann. Apparently he is about the nicest person you would ever meet. He got the guy's son a spot on a Juco team by just calling the head coach. His son didn't even work out, it was purely based on Howie's recommendation. I always like Brian and I was just glad he got a ring once it was obvious there wasn't a chance to get one as a Brave.

[Reunion Dog]

He played golf today @ Reunion. We talked several minutes.... Always a nice guy... At one time there was a push to get him to become AD... but his wife didnt want to live in Starkville..