Could the hiring of Buck Showalter be the beginning of the end for Andy MacPhail in Baltimore?

 

A source told Orioles Hangout that Showalter wanted a lot more control than any other manager in Major League Baseball. The source also said that Showalter wanted “TOTAL control of the organization, from player personnel to player development, to scouting, both Pro and Amateur.”

 

It’s doubtful that the Orioles were going to give him that much control, but that sounds a lot more like a general manager than field manager. The source also claims that Showalter was Peter Angelos’ choice and not Andy MacPhail’s.  According to the source, MacPhail wanted Eric Wedge to be manager.

 

In other words, it will be very interesting to see how much control Showalter gets and if there was a compromise between Angelos and Macphail on responsibilities.

 

Showalter has a long track record of doing things in a dictator-type fashion and that might be exactly what the organization needs in its current shape. However, this will be a significant change for the Orioles to have this type of personality in the organization.

 

It will be very interesting to see what if any responsibilities Showalter receives besides field managerial duties. One theory is that MacPhail will take on a President type role and leave Showalter in control of player personnel for the club as a pseudo-General Manager.

 

Either way, the hiring of Showalter is a significant change for an organization in need of serious change.