While on campus last week, former Major League Baseball manager and Mississippi State graduate Nat “Buck” Showalter said that if the circumstances were right, he’d consider coaching a college program.
“It’s crossed my mind as I’ve gotten older,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate to do a lot of things, and we’ll see what the future holds for me. Stranger things have happened.”
Showalter, who played seven seasons as a first baseman/outfielder in the Yankees’ minor league system, is currently serving as a senior advisor to the general manager of the Cleveland Indians and was in town to speak at the annual First Pitch banquet Thursday.
He was released as Texas Rangers manager after going 80-82 last season.
Prior to his three seasons at Texas, Showalter had served as skipper to both the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Yankees.
Showalter is a two-time American League Manager of the Year.
“I had some opportunities going into this season with some different teams and with television,” he said. “This was just a good fit right now for me and my family.”
Showalter has a daughter who attends Southern Methodist and a son who is a freshman in high school in Dallas.
He stressed that his family would be major factor in determining when and where he might coach in the future.
“When we moved to Dallas I promised my son that I wouldn’t move them again until he got out of high school,” Showalter said. “Maybe I’ll get lucky and go ahead to Starkville [after that]. He loves it here.”
Though he expressed interest in making the leap, Showalter said it would be difficult for someone in the major leagues to adjust to being a college coach.
“I think anyone that comes in from the professional game to the college game has to have a lot of respect for it and realize that it’s not some place where you go off to retire,” he said. “It’s very competitive. There’s a lot of responsibility and expectations, too. You’re not there just to hang out. You had better be able to bring something.”
Showalter, who came to MSU in 1977 after earning All-American honors at Chipola Junior College in Florida, was a member of current Bulldog skipper Ron Polk’s first recruiting class.
Showlater set school records in batting average (.459) and RBIs (44) in his lone season at MSU.
His batting average record still stands as the best ever in the SEC.
He said he has stayed close with his former coach throughout his career, once offering Polk a spot on his Diamondbacks staff.
“I’ve learned a lot about what not to do [from Polk],” he joked. “I did learn how to treat people and how to be consistent.
“I was his first recruiting class here, and some of the relationships I developed here have lasted a lifetime.