At the beginning of the 1985 season, Bowa lost the Cubs' starting shortstop job to Shawon Dunston, which left the 39-year-old Bowa discontented with the Cubs' organization; after becoming the San Diego Padres' manager in 1987, Bowa vented his frustrations with the Cubs in an autobiography, titled "Bleep!" After being released by the Cubs in August 1985, he played the last month of the season with the New York Mets, before retiring. Bowa was a .260 career hitter with 15 home runs, 525 RBI, 2,191 hits, 987 runs, 262 doubles, 99 triples, and 318 stolen bases in 2,247 games. His NL records for career games at shortstop and most years leading the league in fielding were later broken by Ozzie Smith; Bowa‘s Major League record for career fielding average has been broken by Omar Vizquel.