Buck May Stop in Arizona : Baseball: Former Yankee manager Showalter could be Diamondbacks’ first manager.

For a team that will not begin play until the 1998 season, the Arizona Diamondbacks are ahead of schedule. They already have hired the key members of their front office, continue to fine-tune a farm team in Canada and will break ground for a spectacular new stadium next week.

Arizona’s owner, Jerry Colangelo, didn’t expect to be in the market for a manager so soon. But when Buck Showalter became available, he was willing to accelerate the process.

“I’m aware of his other situations, his other possibilities,” said Colangelo, who was in New York Tuesday night with his NBA team, the Phoenix Suns. “If Buck can get over one psychological hurdle--not being on the field for two seasons--I don’t think anything compares to our situation. We have everything going for us.”

Colangelo makes a good point. The other teams with managerial vacancies, the Oakland Athletics and DetroitTigers, have difficulty matching the resources available in Arizona. The Diamondbacks will have a 48,000-seat stadium with natural grass and a retractable roof. The club has sold all its luxury boxes, and all but 4,000 seats have been purchased by season-ticket holders.

Even before Showalter’s New York Yankees contract expired Oct. 31, the 39-year-old manager was being hailed as the heir apparent to Sparky Anderson in Detroit. Randy Smith, who resigned from the San Diego Padres to take the general manager’s job with the Tigers, spoke highly of Showalter and interviewed him Friday in San Diego. A’s GM Sandy Alderson spoke with Showalter the next day in Oakland.

But the biggest impression may have been made by Colangelo and the Diamondbacks. Showalter sat with Colangelo at a Suns-Houston Rockets game Sunday night in Phoenix and met with the front-office staff the following afternoon.

Colagelo believes the Diamondbacks, a late entry in the Showalter sweepstakes, are very much alive in the race. Showalter did not return phone calls Tuesday.

“Buck knows exactly what I’m prepared to do,” said Colangelo, who would not reveal the terms of his contract offer. “I have to believe he’s very interested in what he heard.”

Showalter turned down George Steinbrenner’s offer of two years and $1.05 million. Colangelo’s sales pitch figures to be a significant improvement in both areas. In addition, Showalter would be able to help build the team from the ground floor, a rare perk for any baseball job.

“A guy that comes in now will get to be a part of the whole process,” Colangelo said. “Selecting players, building the farm system. Not many opportunities like this come along.”

Colangelo said Showalter is expected to make a decision by the end of the week, which does not give him much time to weigh his options. Smith had said he wants a manager in place by the general managers’ meeting, which begins Sunday night in Scottsdale, Ariz. Alderson planned to talk again with Showalter Tuesday, but the A’s remain a longshot.

“It’s in his hands,” Colangelo said. “We feel he’s the right guy for the right reasons.”