SEATTLE — Former Arizona Diamondbacks manager Buck Showalter will interview for the Reds' managerial vacancy, the East Valley (Ariz.) Tribune reported Saturday.

        Showalter, 44, was fired on Oct. 2 after absorbing criticism for what was characterized as an overbearing, nit-picking style. Players complained about his highly detailed instructions for wearing uniforms and his posting of the lineup only 45 minutes before a game, among other things.

        The resulting discord in the clubhouse doomed Showalter. It didn't help that the Diamondbacks finished third in the National League West with an 85-77 record despite acquiring right-hander Curt Schilling in July to comple ment reigning Cy Young Award winner Randy Johnson.

        Last season, Showalter led Arizona to a 100-62 mark and the West title. He also managed the New York Yankees from 1992-95. His overall managerial record is 563-504, a .528 winning percentage.

        Were the Reds to hire Showalter, he and center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. probably would need to make peace.

        In 1994, Showalter criti cized Griffey in a New York Times Magazine article for taking the field with his cap backwards and his shirttail untucked. “To me, that's a lack of respect for the game,” Showalter said then.

        Showalter, who's still owed $2.7 million over the next two seasons by the Diamondbacks, also has interviewed for the Pittsburgh Pirates' managerial vacancy and might be considered by the Toronto Blue Jays.

        At least one man has been trimmed from the Reds' 43- person “wish list” of candidates — Terry Francona. Two baseball sources said the Reds contacted the former Philadelphia Phillies manager, who also was fired at the end of the season, to gauge his interest in the Cincinnati job. But the sources said Francona, a former first baseman-outfielder who played for Cincinnati in 1987, declined to be considered out of respect for Ron Oester, the Reds' third-base coach who's a candidate for the job.

ESPN Classic profiles Bench Reds to interview Showalter

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