By Brandon Wajbel
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Speaking to an auditorium filled with Baltimore County Public School students Monday, Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter stressed the importance of leadership in sports, school and the community.
“Leadership is about defining reality,” Showalter said. “There is fine line between sympathy and empathy when things aren’t going well. Handling the difference correctly, that is when leadership shows.”
Showalter, who was named the 2014 American League Manager of the Year and has won several other awards in his lifetime, said his biggest achievement was graduating from college.
“My diploma from Mississippi State hangs in my office every day,” Showalter said. “I might go back and get another one.”
Showalter spoke at the George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology in Towson as part of the first annual BCPS Business Advisory Council Speaker Series.
The event was hosted by School Superintendent S. Dallas Dance and was set up as a conversation between Showalter and Scott Phillips of the BCPS Business Advisory Council. A Q&A session followed.
Showalter said that when he was growing up in Century, Florida, his father was the principal at the town’s high school during the years of segregation. He said his father lobbied for his school to be desegregated, adding that this brought great pressures on the family from the community.
“I still remember those phone calls we used to get at night,” Showalter said. “I remember walking down the pews of the all black church with my father and thinking about how proud I was.”
Going back to the concept of leadership in school, Showalter made a point to remind the students of their role in their education.
“What makes good coaches are good players,” Showalter said. “What makes good teachers are good students.”
Showalter also told students in the audience that now, more than ever, bullying is a huge problem in schools with the capability of ruining lives.
“I remember when you would get bullied in school and could go home and get away from it, but nowadays with the text messaging and the tweeting or whatever they call it, it’s a 24-hour thing,” Showalter said. “I don’t allow that in Baltimore.”
When asked by a student how he deals with being looked up to as leader not just by his players but also by the community as a whole, Showalter said it’s all about perspective.
“I’m thankful that I’m allowed in this position,” Showalter said. “When I first came to Baltimore I wanted to make a difference. My wife Angela gave me guidance and we got involved KidsPeace.” KidsPeace is a private charity that offers mental and physical help to foster children.
“It’s important to know that when these kids turn 8, 10, 12, they don’t disappear,” Showalter said.
In a serious moment during a speech filled with applause and laughter, Showalter spoke about the Baltimore riots of last spring, a time when he felt he needed to lead the most.
“I thought about the things my dad said to me, and I stood by those things when they weren’t that popular,” Showalter said.
The event ended with the offering of a gift to Showalter on behalf of the BCPS Business Advisory Council and a standing ovation from a crowd filled with students, teachers, state delegates, Board of Education members and fans of the Orioles.