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Spotlight: Jerry Manuel
By Marc Connolly
ABC Sports Online
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When the Chicago White Sox hired Jerry Manuel as their manager after the 1997 season, no one could blame locals to ask one Frank Thomas-sized question: who? Here was a 44-year-old practically devoid of any managerial experience and a playing career that consisted of three uneventful Java stops with the Tigers, Expos and Padres in the early 1980s.
|  | | Manager Jerry Manuel #7 won his first Manager of the Year award in 2000. |
Three seasons later, Manuel has transformed Chicago from an angst-ridden, turmoil-filled squad into a division-winning unit fueled by cohesion and serenity in and around the clubhouse.
Manuel's White Sox played above expectations and dethroned the Indians in the A.L. Central behind a 95-67 record in 2000. The fact that they accomplished such a feat with a payroll of only $37 million (ranked 21st) is one of the many reason's Manuel was an overwhelming choice for Manager of the Year honors at the close of the season.
Forget for a moment that Manuel is one of five minority managers in MLB. The fact that he's even in professional baseball at any level is astounding considering his meager beginnings.
Manuel grew up in a small house filled with seven kids in a neighborhood in Hahira, Ga., where most of the homes still used outhouses. When the family moved to an all-black neighborhood in Amarillo, Texas, his intense desire to play sports was carried out by using clothespins as a football and a homemade baseball bat to hit rocks. It was then that he developed the kind of eye-hand coordination that led to a spectacular schoolboy career as a middle infielder that had nearly every college in the country drooling for his admission. When the Detroit Tigers came calling when he was 18, he couldn't resist the lure of the Major Leagues.
Manuel never fully realized his boyhood dreams of baseball success, as his batting average teetered on or below the dubious Mendoza Line throughout his call-ups over a five-year span. However, his keen baseball intellect and unselfish ways were noticed when he played winter ball for Felipe Alou. With Alou's recommendation, the Punch-and-Judy hitter began a relatively quick transformation from player to instructor to coach to manager with Indianapolis, a former Triple AAA site for the Montreal Expos, during the mid-to-late 1980s.
In 1990, Manuel managed his only full season in the minors, and proved himself to be worthy of the title by winning Manager of the Year honors by leading Double-A Jacksonville to the Southern League crown.
Just 50 games into his managerial stint at his old haunt of Triple-A Indianapolis the following season, Manuel was pulled from the bus leagues by Alou to become his third-base coach. Alongside his mentor,
Manuel set up shop in Montreal for the next six years, quickly developing a reputation as a rising young star in the coaching world. Then in 1997, Jim Leyland summoned Manuel down to Florida to be his bench coach with the Marlins. As fate would have it, his first year on the job resulted in an improbable run to the World Series title with the young Marlins.
On the heels of shocking the Indians in the 1997 World Series, Manuel's name was listed as one of 14 the White Sox had on their interview list to fill their managerial vacancy. With several former managers and notable names like Bucky Dent on the list, Manuel wasn't exactly inserted at the top of anyone's list. However, general manager Ron Schueler was so impressed by a two-and-a-half hour interview that he forced owner Jerry Reinsdorf to speak to him as well. When Reinsdorf emerged from his conference, the White Sox had their man.
What stands out most about Manuel's tenure has been his dealings with his players. In addition to his strong communication skills and his willingness to teach and re-teach fundamentals, one of the ways he helped bring the group together was by confronting his star player last spring. By calling out Thomas for not participating in a running activity and laying the law on what he would stand and not stand for, Manuel upped his respect factor amongst the players. Consequently, he was able to light a fire under Thomas enough to help the DH/1B find his once All-Star form that had been missing in previous years.
Already having Manager of the Year accolades and a division title under his belt, the 48-year-old Manuel's career as a manager is a lock to be one not only filled with continued success, but also as a true role model for upcoming minority coaches.
Marc Connolly is a senior writer for ABC Sports Online.
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