Showalter passes Richards for second on O’s wins list

Maybe you missed it during Bundypalooza last night, but Buck Showalter won his 518^th game as an Orioles’ manager, putting him second on the all-time list behind only Hall of Famer Earl Weaver (1,480).

He passed Paul Richards, who managed the Orioles from 1955 to 1961.

In pure Showalter fashion, he joked that both Weaver and Richards are now dead.

“One of players told me today, ‘All those guys have passed away,’” said Showalter, who turned 60 in May. “I’m not far behind them from that standpoint.”

Showalter, who previously had the reputation of wearing out his welcome wherever he managed, won his first game as an Oriole exactly six years ago today, Aug. 3, 2010, when the Orioles beat the Los Angeles Angels. It’s been an impressive and rapid ride to second place on the managerial wins’ list.

“Paul Richards was a great baseball man. Gosh, we’d all like to be half the baseball guy he was,” Showalter said. “I remember reading his book growing up, and he was way ahead of his time. Special”

Now, Showalter has passed Richards as an Oriole and has passed Hall of Famer Wilbert Robinson on baseball’s all-time wins’ list for 28^th place – he has 1,400 total wins.

Showalter isn’t making a big deal of it. But his boss, executive vice president Dan Duquette, did.

“Terrific achievement. … To be able to do that, first of all you have to be in one place for a long time and Buck’s been able to do that.  Secondly, you got to be a skipper of a club that wins a lot of games and Buck did that,” said Duquette, who knew Richards personally. “So, now he’s in rare company between Paul Richards and Earl Weaver. I remember the line, I thought it was a great compliment to Buck, during (Weaver’s) statue unveiling ceremony Weaver said, ‘I want to thank the sculptor for making me look like Buck Showalter.’

“The three greatest managers, easily in the history of the club, and Buck has passed Richards. And his place in Orioles history is really solidified by advancing beyond Paul.”