Buck Showalter won’t be back in 2019, so here are five candidates to replace him as Baltimore Orioles manager.
Buck Showalter has a pretty successful run as Baltimore Orioles manager after taking over midway through the 2010 season, with five straight non-losing seasons (2012-2016) and three postseason appearances. But an expiring contract and a 47-115 set the stage for an exit, and on Wednesday it was confirmed Showalter won’t be back as Orioles manager in 2019.
General manager Dan Duquette will also be gone, so a new lead executive will ideally be able to lead a managerial search. But owner Peter Angelos is sure to have a say, or he’ll at least convey his wishes to his sons who now have taken lead roles in ownership.
A rebuild is happening in Baltimore, as multiple veterans were sent packing at or near the trade deadlinethis year. So a younger manager might be the best fit for a young group of players, with experience coaching in the minor leagues surely a mark in someone’s corner.
Exactly what direction the Orioles will take in finding a new manager will be told by when and how a new general manager is hired. The general manager should come first, then a managerial hire, but with dynamic at the top of the Orioles’ organization nothing can be assumed.
In any case, here are five candidates to be the next Orioles’ manager.
5. Billy Ripken
Ripken is of course the brother of Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., and he is currently working as an analyst for Sirius XM and MLB Network. He has surfaced as a rumored name to replace Showalter, but his interest in managing is unclear.
With what the Ripken surname means to the history of Orioles’ baseball, hiring Billy would carry prestige and a lot of unknown. But he can’t be ruled out, at least not yet.