New York Mets manager Buck Showalter said Sunday that he will not return to the job next season after a losing campaign for the most expensive payroll in Major League Baseball.
The Mets and their $344 million lineup were 74-86 entering Sunday's home game against Philadelphia, missing the playoffs for the sixth time in seven seasons.
"We've got some new leadership coming in," Showalter said. "They are going to go in a different direction with the manager next year."
Showalter, 67, began his managerial career in 1992 with the New York Yankees and also managed Arizona, Texas and Baltimore before taking over the Mets last year, guiding them into a first-round playoff series loss to San Diego.
"I was honored to get a chance to manage a second New York team and I'm proud of what the Mets did," Showalter said. "I wish things could've gone better this season because Mets fans deserved that.
"In my heart, you always wonder what might have happened if this hadn't happened or that hadn't happened, but I try not to live in that world."
Showalter, who has a career managerial record of 1,726-1,664 over 22 seasons without winning a playoff series, was a four-time Manager of the Year award winner, most recently last season.
"They've got good ownership here," Showalter said. "They've got a perfect right to go in a different direction."
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