Austin Manahan

Austin Manahan

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 175-185 lb.
• High School Horizon High School

• Born April 12, 1970

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

One of a slew of failed Pittsburgh Pirates draft picks out of high school from the late 1980s through early 21st century, Austin Manahan was selected one draft after Mark Merchant and a couple of years after the Pirates had deviated from their tendency and drafted college players Barry Bonds and Jeff King in back-to-back seasons. Manahan was the 13th overall pick of the 1988 amateur draft, picked one slot ahead of Tino Martinez. As a high school senior, Manahan had hit .526, slugged 1.179, stolen 23 bases, homered 9 times in 78 at-bats and scored 51 runs. Starting off with the Princeton Pirates, Manahan struggled from the get-go in Organized Baseball. He hit .181/~.262/.313, struck out 102 times in 227 at-bats and fielded only .858, with 36 miscues in 64 games at shortstop.

Returning to Princeton in 1989, Manahan hit .233/~.293/.342 with 24 Ks in 73 AB and played also with the Welland Pirates (.213/~.282/.326, 51 K in 178 AB). The Pirates, unimpressed with Manahan's 1988 campaign, had again used their #1 draft pick on a shortstop, Willie Greene.

In 1990, Manahan looked like a true prospect for the first and only time. Moved to third base and second base to make room for Greene at shortstop, he hit .302/~.383/.397 for the Augusta Pirates with 10 triples, 28 steals and 105 K in 378 AB. He was third in the South Atlantic League in triples and sixth in batting average. For the Salem Pirates that year, Austin hit .279/~.333/.422 with 8 steals in 9 tries and 51 strikeouts in 154 at-bats; he had fanned 156 times that season.

At second base for Salem full-time in 1991, Manahan managed just a .211/~.300/.331 line with 127 strikeouts. In 1992 he moved up to the Carolina Mudcats, hitting .221/~.282/.353 with 101 strikeouts in 340 at-bats.

Pittsburgh gave up on Manahan, who was picked up by the Montreal Expos. Now at third base, Manahan hit .237/~.303/.347 with 78 K in 274 AB for the West Palm Beach Expos. He was dealt to the San Diego Padres with cash for Denis Boucher and hit .290/~.340/.441 for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, striking out 38 more times in 145 at-bats, keeping up his streak of 100-strikeout seasons, now at four in four years of regular action.

Hitting .296/~.367/.333 with 9 runs in 11 games for Rancho Cucamonga in 1995, Manahan went to the Orlando Cubs and the 25-year-old batted .289/~.321/.428 with 37 K in 128 at-bats. Austin finished his baseball playing career with Orlando in 1996 with a .212/~.257/.292 turn and fielding only .879.

He is the brother of Anthony Manahan, another former first-round pick.

Sources: 1989-1996 Baseball Almanacs, 1989 and 1991 Baseball Guides