Jerry Manuel

Jerry Manuel

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 165 lb.
• High School Cordova High School (Rancho Cordova)
• Debut September 18, 1975
• Final Game May 30, 1982
• Born December 23, 1953 in Hahira, GA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Manager Jerry Manuel led the Chicago White Sox for six seasons. In 2000, the club won the AL Central division title, and the team finished in second place four times in his tenure. However, the Sox were considered underachievers, and he was fired following the 2003 season.

Manuel was a coach for the Indianapolis Indians in 1986-1987. He has also been a scout and held coaching positions with the Montreal Expos (1991-1996), Florida Marlins (1997), and the New York Mets (2006-2007). Before being hired by the White Sox, Manuel was a finalist for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays managerial opening that was instead given to fellow Florida Marlins coach Larry Rothschild. Manuel was named interim manager of the New York Mets on June 17, 2008, taking over for the fired Willie Randolph. He was rapidly confirmed as permanent manager, as the Mets improved significantly under his guidance, but as had happened the previous season, the team played poorly down the stretch, was overtaken by the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East, and lost out to the Milwaukee Brewers on the last day of the season for the wild card. The Mets started off well in 2009, but the season was derailed by injuries to key players such as Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes and they fell out of contention. Then, things went from bad to worse as 3B David Wright and pitcher Johan Santana joined the ranks of the disabled in August, leaving the Mets but a shell of the team that had started the season. Manuel stayed on for another season, in 2010, but the Mets also went nowhere that year, finishing in 4th place with 79 wins while never being in contention. Manuel was let go after the season.

In 1989, he played for the St. Lucie Legends of the Senior Professional Baseball Association and hit .301 in 50 games.

On April 9, 2014, Manuel was appointed by Commissioner Bud Selig as head of Major League Baseball's diversity task force, established exactly a year earlier to look at the issue of declining numbers of African-Americans active in the major leagues. Working under take force chairman Dave Dombrowski, GM of the Detroit Tigers, Manuel was put in charge of implementing the three main recommendations that came out of the task force: expanding MLB support for existing programs aimed at developing baseball in inner cities; launching program to improve the quality of coaching available to young African-American players; and raising its profile in inner cities by engaging current and past stars in outreach programs directed at the African-American community.

His son, Anthony Manuel, is a former minor league second baseman, and his nephew, Marcellous Manuel, is a former minor league outfielder. He was the father-in-law of Rondell White.

Notable Achievements

• AL Manager of the Year Award (2000)
• Division Championships: 1 (2000)

Preceded by Terry Bevington

Chicago White Sox Manager 1998-2003

Succeeded by Ozzie Guillen

Preceded by Willie Randolph

New York Mets Manager 2008-2010

Succeeded by Terry Collins

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1990	Jacksonville Expos	Southern League	84-60	1st	Montreal Expos	Lost in 1st round
1991	Indianapolis Indians	American Association	29-22	--	Montreal Expos		replaced by Pat Kelly (46-46) on June 3
1998	Chicago White Sox	American League	80-82	2nd	Chicago White Sox
1999	Chicago White Sox	American League	75-86	2nd	Chicago White Sox
2000	Chicago White Sox	American League	95-67	1st	Chicago White Sox	Lost ALDS
2001	Chicago White Sox	American League	83-79	3rd	Chicago White Sox
2002	Chicago White Sox	American League	81-81	2nd	Chicago White Sox
2003	Chicago White Sox	American League	86-76	2nd	Chicago White Sox
2008	New York Mets	National League	55-38	2nd	New York Mets		replaced Willie Randolph (34-35) on June 17
2009	New York Mets	National League	70-92	4th	New York Mets
2010	New York Mets	National League	79-83	4th	New York Mets

Related Sites

• BR Manager page
• Rothschild Named Devil Rays Manager