masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgToday marks the 25th anniversary of Buck Showalter managing his first game in the majors. And by pure coincidence, he’s facing the team that got him started.
Showalter was in the home dugout at Yankee Stadium on April 7, 1992 for a 4-3 victory over the Red Sox. Scott Sanderson got the win, Roger Clemens the loss and Steve Farr the save. Former Oriole John Habyan struck out two batters in a scoreless eighth inning for the Yankees.
The anniversary must not have been marked on Showalter’s…

Today marks the 25th anniversary of Buck Showalter managing his first game in the majors. And by pure coincidence, he’s facing the team that got him started.

Showalter was in the home dugout at Yankee Stadium on April 7, 1992 for a 4-3 victory over the Red Sox. Scott Sanderson got the win, Roger Clemens the loss and Steve Farr the save. Former Oriole John Habyan struck out two batters in a scoreless eighth inning for the Yankees.

The anniversary must not have been marked on Showalter’s calendar today.

buck-showalter-smell-baseball.jpg“Seriously?” he said.

“I have memories of it. That’s one of the things I haven’t forgotten as I’ve gotten older. Yeah, I remember Jody Reed popping the ball up for the third out. And I remember (coach) Clete Boyer trying to get me to take a drag off a Picayune cigarette in case I was nervous. Don’t do that. That was a mistake. Took me about three hours to come down from that one.

“I said, ‘Clete, I’m really not nervous. Am I supposed to be?’ “

Showalter said he also remembers the “phone calls” during the game. I’m guessing that they came from the owner’s box.

“I got a lot of help,” he said, drawing laughter from the room. “I needed it, I needed it.”

Showalter is in his eighth season with the Orioles after stints with the Yankees (1992-95), Diamondbacks (1998-2000) and Rangers (2003-06). His 549 wins as Orioles manager are the second-most in club history behind Earl Weaver’s 1,480.

Showalter’s 1,431 career victories rank 25th all-time in baseball history and are fourth among active managers. He needs 49 more to tie Weaver for 24th place, which surely will be an uncomfortable moment for him.

Ubaldo Jiménez makes his regular season debut tonight after being sent to the minor league complex at Twin Lakes Park for his last two spring outings. It’s been a while since he’s faced major league hitters, but Showalter doesn’t expect new challenges to develop because of it.

“His delivery was good,” Showalter said, “but the Yankees will tell me tonight. If there’s a fight at the bat rack, there’s a problem.”

Update: Jiménez threw 30 pitches in the first inning and allowed one run on two hits and a walk. He also struck out two.

The Orioles tied the game in the bottom half on a leadoff double by Seth Smith and RBi single by Adam Jones. Chris Davis reached on an infield hit and the Yankees committed an error, but the Orioles didn’t take the lead.

Update II: Matt Holliday hit a two-run homer with two outs in the third to give New York a 3-1 lead. Jimenez’s pitch count rose to 66.