He Manages Quite Nicely Despite the Distractions

By accident I ended up in a room by myself with Buck Showalter, who is the sharp young manager of the New York Yankees, and with Reggie Jackson, who is, well, Reggie Jackson. We got to talking about an appointment Showalter had scheduled for Saturday morning to meet for the first time with one of the Yankees’ newest and goofiest executives, George Costanza.

Costanza is a middle-aged man who lives with his parents. He bears an eerie resemblance to the excellent actor Jason Alexander and was last seen on the season-ending episode of the NBC television program “Seinfeld,” a show about nothing, learning that he had just been personally approved by George Steinbrenner to join the Yankee front office, I forget as what.

“Traveling secretary,” Showalter said.

Obviously, the manager had been keeping tabs on the growing number of crazy Georges in the company. Showalter and one of his outfielders, Danny Tartabull, had been asked to set aside an hour in the morning at Anaheim Stadium to tape a brief segment for an upcoming “Seinfeld,” possibly something having to do with the Seinfeld fly rule. But Buck had reservations.

“Something might come up to keep me from doing it,” he said mysteriously, looking at Reggie.

“Oh?” I said, brilliantly.

“I might be busy,” Showalter said, still looking at Reggie.

“He might be busy,” Reggie said, looking at Buck.

“Busy?” I interrogated.

“With meetings,” Showalter said.

“Yeah, meetings,” Reggie said.

Seven hours before a night game? Meetings?

Inasmuch as the Yankees had just outscored the Angels, 23-10, over two nights, I seriously doubted that any emergency situation existed. Then again, from what I hear, Steinbrenner is still out there somewhere, making the Yankee manager’s life miserable, which, of course, is what Steinbrenner does as naturally as fish swim. I gather he still incessantly rings the manager’s phone, still gives him an earful. He just doesn’t go public with this designated Hitler act any more.

Being manager of the Yankees means always having to say you’re sorry.

Showalter has lasted longer than most. He is in his third season as Yankee skipper, a job often cruelly thought of as Steinbrenner’s marionette. Buck looks 38 going on 58. It can’t be easy being in that dugout, even when the Yanks are in first place, even when the pressure is on low.

It was Showalter who won his 100th game before his 37th birthday, who guided the Yankees to their first winning season after four in a row below .500. Yet it is not an easy life. Showalter has been known to sleep inside the stadium overnight before a day game. He has a club full of free agents and a fat division lead to protect.

He also recently learned how quickly the lightning can crackle, having made an offhand, confidential remark about Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr. lacking a certain “respect for the game,” then having his basically innocuous comments about the players’ sloppy dressing habits quoted back as though he had impugned Bonds’ and Griffey’s reputations. Griffey crowed that the Yankees would be the first team trying to sign him, as though anyone had ever said anything to the contrary.

No wonder Buck ducks the spotlight.

“Do you get asked to do a lot of TV things?” I asked.

“Not me,” Showalter said.

“How come?”

“I’m a bore.”

He isn’t. He merely has never been confused with Billy Martin. The 30th different manager the Yankees have had, Showalter is the unassuming son of a Pittsburgh Steeler fullback. He played ball at Mississippi State, spent seven years hitting .294 in the minors without ever getting one at-bat in the bigs, then at a tender age landed one of baseball’s meanest jobs.

He’s trying to win a pennant, trying to please George, trying to keep modern players happy, trying to prepare for a labor walkout, trying to keep third base coach Wave ‘Em Home Willie Randolph from sending every runner, trying to feed the media animals, trying to step through picketers upset over some other Yankee executive’s remark, even trying to accommodate a situation-comedy.

Reggie asked, “What’s the name of the show?”

‘Seinfeld,” Showalter said.

Reggie nodded in recognition, but said, “Those TV things are always more fun in the talking than in the doing.”

Same as managing the Yankees.