Buck Showalter has a theory on what it takes to have playoff success in Major League Baseball.
Formerly the manager of the Yankees, Diamondbacks, Rangers, Orioles and Mets, Showalter reached the postseason six times during his 22 years in the dugout. His deepest run came with Baltimore in 2014 when he won 96 games and reached the ALCS, being swept by the eventual World Series runner-up Royals.
“The game more than ever is just get in, get a couple of hot starting pitchers and a couple guys in the ‘pen that are peaking at the right time and having a mentality of maybe ‘The Little Engine That Could,'” Showalter said on Glenn Clark Radio June 14.
Showalter even took that team-building approach a step further, citing his tenure with the Diamondbacks (1998-2000). The Diamondbacks won the World Series in 2001, a year after Showalter was fired.
“You really only need two quality starters the way the playoffs are set up,” Showalter said. “That’s one reason why we ended up with Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling out in Arizona, because we felt like if we had those two guys, and if they just won their starts in the playoffs, you’re world champions.”
If we apply Showalter’s logic to the 2024 Orioles, it’s plausible to say they have those two quality starters.
Corbin Burnes is a bona fide ace, and although the team has been ravaged with season-ending injuries to John Means, Tyler Wells and now Kyle Bradish, Baltimore has other candidates to fill that second role. Grayson Rodriguez and Cole Irvin have put together impressive campaigns, while Albert Suárez, Cade Povich and Dean Kremer are all capable of holding rotation spots.
The Orioles currently sit second in the MLB in team ERA entering play on June 19, narrowly trailing the Yankees and leading the Phillies. Those are the top three teams in the majors, at least record-wise. And Showalter agrees there’s a correlation between pitching success and overall team success.
“If you look at the five or six teams at the top of the winning percentage, they’re usually very close to the leaders in pitching,” he said.
While the Orioles will certainly consider pitching upgrades leading up to the July 30 trade deadline, especially with the potential ramifications of Bradish’s injury, Showalter cautioned his former team against making a move that runs contrary to the organization’s identity.
“I’d be very careful about when someone says, ‘You’ve got to do this,'” he said. “No, you don’t. You don’t have to do anything. Know who you are, a couple of additions here and there. But you’ve got to be careful about backing yourself into something you feel like you’ve got to do and you kind of lose sight of who you really are as an organization.”
Another important factor in playoff success, Showalter said, is one that’s a little harder to control: the weight of expectations facing a franchise.
“Sometimes you want to kind of be under the radar,” Showalter said. “I think when you’re front and center and the whole world is saluting about you’re the greatest ever, sometimes that can be a little intimidating.”
Showalter believes that after flying under the radar last season, the Orioles have “turned a corner” in terms of meeting the lofty expectations of a contending franchise. After being an unexpected upstart team last season, Baltimore has established itself for a second straight season and is once again sitting near the top of the league.
“The fans are going to have a lot of fun for a long time because they have met those weight of expectations and they’re still doing well,” Showalter said.
For more from Showalter, listen to the full interview here:
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