Marty talks with Rangers manger Buck Showalter about Buck’s days at ESPN, the Cape Cod League, and the prospects in the Ranger oraganization. BUCK SHOWALTER INTERVIEW

L:Marty Lurie here on Right Off the Bat with Buck Showalter, the manager of the Texas Rangers. Boy, maybe the best way to get a managerial job is to be on ESPN! Looks like an employment line that comes out of there. What’s it like being on ESPN and being a manager and then having these openings come up?

S:Well, I had some opportunities the last couple of years to go back home. It just didn’t feel right and fit right. The people at ESPN were great to me. It’s a very challenging life. TV is tough, I’ll tell ya. It really cramps your language. And that red light, there’s no net out there. It’s a lot like managing. But it was a great opportunity for me to be a part of, and, who knows what’s down the road, but Texas is a great fit for me. I love what John Hart brings and Tom Hicks, and it’s just been outstanding so far. I know there are some bumps in the road along the way, but we’re excited about where we’re headed.

L:Buck, how did this job come about for you? As you say, you did have a couple of opportunities. Your name came up in the Kansas City job when that was up over the summer. How did this one come about? It’s always interesting for the fans to hear it.

S:Well, I had been contacted by the Cubs and the Mets and Kansas City, and there was another club that there was a little more of a private meeting with, and John had called about talking. We sat down and talked and it was very obvious fairly early on that it was a good match for me and my family. I knew a lot of people in Texas, and who knows what would have happened? Obviously they got Dusty in Chicago, which is a great upgrade from me, obviously, and in New York Art Howe was a great pick for them, and it worked out well for all of us, and I don’t dwell on it a whole lot.

L:You’ve managed in New York, you’ve managed in Arizona, and now you come into the Texas situation. How do the three differ? You’re still kinda the same guy. How do you approach it?

S:Well, there are some similarities. We’re all in a stage where we’ve got to start going in a different direction and try to blend the old and the new together, the young and the old. Great passionate ownership that wants to win and wants to be a part of that. And I’m excited about the leadership with John and Tom Hicks and of course Grady Fuson heading our minor leagues. There’s a lot of things that I don’t have to worry about here that I was asked to be a part of in Arizona, and it’s nice to get back to just purely managing the team. That’s enough challenge in itself.

L:You were talking about your baseball career up in the Cape Cod League, which sounded like a pretty good story. The college kids come up there, and it’s still a great place to play. Tell people about your experience up in Cape Cod.

S:It was one of the great summers of my life. I came from a little town that graduated 35, 40 people, and all of a sudden I went up to Cape Cod and they let out those college terms, and people just come flooding in. That was the first time I really knew what the whole world was about. I was a short-order cook in a breakfast nook, you know, the French toast, and my mom sent me up a case of grits, I put those on sale, and I survived on tips. I tell you what, I learned how to cook omelets and French toast and make coffee in a hurry. I had to survive!

L:On this team you’ve got some really young players, but they look like they’re gonna be stars. Can you give us a little scouting report on some of the young people you have on the team?

S:Well, Hank Blalock is a talented left-handed hitter, can play third base or second base. Mark Teixeira, a guy who can play third base and first base, switch hitter with big potential, as Hank does. Michael Young, our second baseman, just turned 26. We think he probably should have won a Gold Glove last year and he’s making strides offensively. Kevin Mensch is on the DL right now but he’s a 26‑year‑old outfielder with the capability of being real productive offensively and a plus outfielder. Colby Lewis is gonna break on our club as a starting pitcher, he was a number one pick a few years back with a plus arm, plus breaking ball; it’s just a matter of how quickly he comes. We also have a guy at shortstop who’s only 27 years old; a lot of people forget how young Alex is. So we think we have the nucleus of a pretty young club. We have Lance Nix, a 22‑year‑old outfielder that we think has a chance to be special one day. So if our pitching can catch up with the rest of it, we could have some fun very shortly.

L:Buck, going back to ESPN and being an analyst. We all know what it’s like at the ballpark, what time a manager gets here and all the work you’ve gotta do, and deal with the media, answer all these questions, but what was life like at ESPN? What was your typical day like?

S:First of all, you’d get out of there about 2 o’clock in the morning. You became a real fan of the closers because if that West Coast game didn’t get closed out, you had to sit around ’til it got finished, and then you had to wait around for the 1 o’clock show. Very passionate about it, the people there. They work very hard to present it properly. Carl Ravitch is such a talented man, and I thank goodness, he covered me many times for my mistakes, but he was special. Harold Reynolds is a real solid guy. But you get there at probably noon, sometimes earlier than that, and you have meetings to discuss baseball issues, and by the time you get out of there it might be 1 or 2 o’clock in the morning.

L:Surprise, Arizona. And there was a surprise going to that complex. A beautiful complex. I think maybe the nicest spring training complex I’ve seen. For the fans who didn’t get a chance to be in Surprise, describe it.

S:Well, I’m biased. But each one should get better. It’s the newest one; it should be the best. But it’s the best spring training complex I’ve ever been in. Just outstanding. It eliminated an excuse for us. We can’t use that as an excuse to get ready. Just great people there, they treated us well. It’s gonna be like the fifth biggest city in Arizona in the next 10 years. It’s growing leaps and bounds. And it was kinda sad leaving there, in a way. We made so many friends down there and spent really almost two months there, so it was some tough goodbyes.

L:I appreciate your being on Right Off the Bat. It’s great to see you back in the game.

S:Thanks very much. Good luck to you and the Oakland A’s.

Much thanks to Margie Kahn for the terrific transcrption, I appreciate your work, thanks, from Marty Lurie