Manuel Known for Slow, Steady Progress
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Many remember Jerry Manuel, the new Mets manager, from his six-year stint as manager of the Chicago White Sox. It’s probably better that way, considering his lackluster playing career.
A first-round draft pick of the Detroit Tigers in the 1972 free-agent draft, Manuel never lived up to the five-tool potential that got him more than 100 college scholarship offers in baseball, basketball, and football.
RELATED: Tim Marchman: It’s Time To Fire Willie Randolph | New Motto for the Mets: This Ain’t About Love | Steven Goldman: Randolph Takes Fall for Minaya’s Shortcomings.
He played sparingly in parts of five seasons in the majors, primarily as a second baseman for the Tigers (1975-76), the Montreal Expos (1980-81), and the San Diego Padres (1982). He hit .150, with three home runs and 13 RBI in 96 career games.
His big-league managerial career began after the Florida Marlins won the World Series in 1997. Manuel served as bench coach under manager Jim Leyland that season, and that title put Manuel’s name in the hat for managerial jobs around the league. After turning down an offer to manage the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, he took over a White Sox team filled to the brim with the overbearing egos of players such as Frank Thomas and Albert Belle.
“What you have to do with big-money players or young players is develop a relationship,” Manuel told the Chicago Tribune at his introductory press conference in 1998. “If you institute rules without having a relationship, that equals rebellion.”
An insurgence is what Manuel might have on his hands if the $140 million Mets don’t find a way to right the ship. But if his six-year, 500-471 career record managing the White Sox is any indication, quick turnarounds are not his forte.
In his first season on the South Side, Manuel’s White Sox went 80-82, nearly identical to the 80-81 record the team had the previous season. They slipped even further, to 75-86, the next season.
It was in 2000 that Manuel had his most successful campaign in Chicago, leading the team to a 95-67 record. He was named Major League Manager of the Year, but the White Sox lost in the Division Series to the Seattle Mariners. His teams hovered around .500 during his last three seasons at the helm, and general manager Ken Williams let Manuel go in 2003.
Manuel also spent six seasons as the bench coach for the Montreal Expos (1991-96) and was named Southern League co-Manager of the Year while coaching the Expos’ Double-A team at Jacksonville in 1990.
He joined the Mets in 2005 as a first base and outfield coach.