Rangers fire Manager Buck Showalter

ARLINGTON, Texas, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- The Texas Rangers have fired two-time American League Manager of the Year Buck Showalter, who had been the team's manager for the past four seasons.

Showalter was hired by the Rangers after the 2002 season but never got the team to finish higher than third in the AL West. The Rangers were 80-82 this season and 319-329 overall under Showalter.

The Rangers were Showalter's third team as manager. He led the New York Yankees from 1992-95 and the Arizona Diamondbacks from 1998-2000 and owns an overall managerial record of 882-833. He was the league's manager of the year while with the Yankees in 1994 and took the honor again while leading the Rangers to an 89-73 record in 2004 -- the only winning season for the team in seven years.

MLB.com reported that Texas bench coach Don Wakamatsu and hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo were among the leading candidates to replace Showalter.

The Rangers' move is the fourth managerial change in the Major Leagues, which saw its regular season end Sunday. The Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins and Washington Nationals have also fired their managers.