Sean Anthony Manaea ( ;
born February 1, 1992) is an American
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Modern professional ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
for the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...
of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the
Oakland Athletics and
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...
. He played
college baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...
at
Indiana State University
Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...
.
While attending Indiana State, Manaea was named the best prospect in the
Cape Cod Baseball League in 2012. The
Kansas City Royals selected Manaea with the 34th pick in the
2013 MLB draft
The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey.
Each team received one selection per round, going in ...
, and traded him to the Athletics during the 2015 season. He debuted in MLB in 2016, and pitched a
no-hitter on April 21, 2018. Oakland traded Manaea to the Padres before the 2022 season.
Amateur career
Manaea was raised in
Wanatah, Indiana
Wanatah is a town in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,048 at the 2010 census.
History
The first settlements were made at Wanatah in the 1850s when the railroad was extended to that point. Wanatah was platted in 1865. ...
, population 1,000.
He attended
South Central Junior-Senior High School in
Union Mills, Indiana, for his first three years of high school.
[ After his junior year, he competed in the first All-]Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
Crossroads Showcase Series. Manaea transferred to Andrean High School
Andrean High School is a co-educational, college preparatory secondary school in Merrillville, Indiana. It is located in the Diocese of Gary.
The school was founded in 1959, and named for St. Andrew, the patron saint of the first bishop of the di ...
in Merrillville, Indiana
Merrillville is a town in Ross Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 35,246 at the 2010 census. Merrillville is in east-central Lake County, in the Chicago metropolitan area. On January 1, 2015, Merrillville became the ...
. Playing for the baseball team at Andrean, Manaea was part of the state champions in 2010, his senior year.[ He threw a ]fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...
between .
Not selected in the Major League Baseball (MLB) draft out of high school, Manaea enrolled at Indiana State University
Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...
(ISU), where he played college baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...
for the Indiana State Sycamores baseball
The Indiana State Sycamores baseball team is the NCAA Division I baseball program of Indiana State University, located in Terre Haute, Indiana. It is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. The team last played in the NCAA Division I Basebal ...
team, competing in the Missouri Valley Conference
The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest.
History
The MVC was established ...
of NCAA's Division I. After his freshman year at ISU, Manaea played collegiate summer baseball for the Dubois County Bombers
League Stadium is a baseball stadium in Huntingburg, Indiana, United States, located at 203 South Cherry Street. Originally built in 1894, League Stadium is the home of the Dubois County Bombers of the collegiate summer Ohio Valley League and ...
of the Prospect League. Manaea was 5–3 with a 3.34 ERA and recorded 115 strikeouts (13th in the nation) in 105 innings pitched for the Sycamores as a sophomore.
Following his sophomore year at Indiana State, he competed for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks
The Hyannis Harbor Hawks, formerly the Hyannis Mets, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Harbor Hawks play ...
in the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he went 5–1 with a 1.22 earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
(ERA) and a league-leading 85 strikeouts (setting the modern record for a single summer) in innings pitched, and won the league's Outstanding Prospect Award, and was named the B.F.C Whitehouse Top Pitcher, Summer National Player of the Year by Perfect Game USA, and the Cape Cod League's top prospect by ''Baseball America''.[ In 2013, Manaea was named a Preseason ]All-America
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
n and added to the National Pitcher of the Year Watch List. He compiled a 5–4 record, a 1.47 ERA, and 93 strikeouts in innings, ranking fourth in the nation in strikeouts per 9 innings pitched
In baseball statistics, strikeouts per nine innings pitched (K/9, SO/9, or SO/9IP) is the mean of strikeouts (or Ks) by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by multiplying the number of strikeouts by nine, and dividing by the nu ...
(11.4), while leading the league with 5 balks. By the end of his collegiate career, his fastball reached as high as .[
]
Professional career
Kansas City Royals
Considered a top prospect in the 2013 Major League Baseball draft
The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey.
Each team received one selection per round, going in ...
, Manaea was scouted by the Houston Astros, who had the first overall pick. However, he had a hip injury that he pitched through during his junior year at Indiana State. Misdiagnosed as a hip impingement that he could play through as it healed, Manaea pitched through pain and saw his velocity decrease.[ He was not selected until the Kansas City Royals took him with the 34th pick of the draft. The Royals signed Manaea to a $3.55 million signing bonus, above the recommended value for the 34th pick of $1,623,000.][ He had surgery to repair a torn acetabular labrum in his hip and missed the remainder of the 2013 season.][
Healthy in time for spring training in 2014, the Royals assigned Manaea to the ]Wilmington Blue Rocks
The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium.
...
of the Class A-Advanced
High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...
, with the plan to limit him to 150 innings pitched for the 2014 season. Manaea had a 7–8 record with a 3.11 ERA in 25 games started, leading the Carolina League with 146 strikeouts in 121.2 innings (10.8 strikeouts per 9 innings). He was named an MiLB Organization 2014 All Star.
He missed the beginning of the 2015 season with abdominal and groin injuries. After making four starts for Wilmington, Manaea received a promotion to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Naturals play at Arvest Ballpark, whic ...
of the Class AA
Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...
Texas League
The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...
in July, for whom he pitched seven innings.
Oakland Athletics
The Royals traded Manaea and Aaron Brooks to the Oakland Athletics on July 28, 2015, in exchange for Ben Zobrist
Benjamin Thomas Zobrist (; born May 26, 1981), is an American former professional baseball second baseman and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, and Chi ...
. The Athletics assigned him to the Midland RockHounds
The Midland RockHounds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Midland, Texas. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics major league club. The RockHounds play in Momentum Bank Ballpark, w ...
of the Texas League. With Midland, Manaea made seven starts, and had a 1.90 ERA with 51 strikeouts in innings pitched. He was named an MiLB Organization 2015 All Star. Pitching for the Mesa Solar Sox
The Mesa Solar Sox are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Mesa, Arizona, at Sloan Park, which is also the spring training facility of the Chicago Cubs. The team was established ...
in 2015, he was named an AFL Rising Star and to the AFL All-Prospect Team.
He began the 2016 season with the Nashville Sounds of the Class AAA
Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...
Pacific Coast League.
After he made three starts for Nashville, with whom he was 2–0 with a 1.50 ERA in 18 innings with 21 strikeouts, the Athletics promoted Manaea to the major leagues to make his debut on April 29. In his rookie season in 2016, Manaea pitched to a 7–9 win–loss record and a 3.86 ERA in 25 games (24 starts) covering 144.2 innings. Manaea was placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a left shoulder strain on April 30, 2017.
Manaea completed his 16th consecutive outing in which he pitched at least two innings allowing no more than five hits on June 5. Manaea surpassed Tom Gordon
Thomas Flynn Gordon (born November 18, 1967), nicknamed "Flash," is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher and current radio color commentator for the Boston Red Sox. Gordon played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Ka ...
's streak of 15 games (June 24 – September 2, 1992), becoming the longest such streak by an American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
(AL) pitcher since 1913. In 16 starts prior to the All-Star break, Manaea had a 3.76 ERA. He struggled with weight loss during the season due to changing dosage of an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inap ...
medication he was prescribed in the spring, going from . He ended the 2017 season with a 12–10 record and a 4.37 ERA in 29 starts covering 158.2 innings.
On April 21, 2018, Manaea no-hit the Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
3–0 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
Oakland Coliseum, currently branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. The Coliseum is the home ba ...
, becoming the first Athletics pitcher to throw a no-hitter since Dallas Braden's perfect game
On Sunday, May 9, 2010, Major League Baseball pitcher Dallas Braden pitched a perfect game. Braden, a member of the Oakland Athletics, pitched the game against the Tampa Bay Rays and retired all 27 batters. The game took place on Mother's Day i ...
in 2010. He struck out 10 and walked two. With a .894 winning percentage, the Red Sox had the best record, at the time, of any team to be no-hit in baseball history. Manaea and Manny Machado were named the AL's Co-Players of the Week for the week ending April 22. In his next start against the Houston Astros on April 27, Manaea pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out seven as the A's won 8–1. In August, Manaea went on the disabled list due to an impingement in his left shoulder. On September 11, he was ruled out for the rest of the season due to arthroscopic surgery to repair the impingement. He ended the 2018 season with a 12–9 record in 27 starts covering 160.2 innings in which he averaged 7.9 hits and 1.8 walks per 9 innings, with a 1.077 WHIP, and his 9 wild pitches were 10th in the AL. He tied for the major league lead in bunt hits given up, with six.
Manaea began the 2019 season rehabilitating his shoulder, aiming to return to the Athletics at midseason. He made his season debut in September. In five starts, he was 4–0 with 30 strikeouts in innings. Earning the start in the 2019 AL Wild Card Game against the Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...
. He allowed four runs on four hits, including three home runs, despite striking out five, leading to his exit after two-plus innings in an eventual 5–1 Oakland loss.
In 2020, Manaea and the Athletics agreed to a $3.75 million salary. He finished the pandemic-shortened season with a record of 4–3 and a 4.50 ERA in 11 starts covering 54 innings. As Oakland advanced in the playoffs, Manaea pitched against the Houston Astros in Game 2 of the 2020 American League Division Series
The 2020 American League Division Series were two best-of-five-games series in Major League Baseball (MLB) to determine participating teams in the 2020 American League Championship Series. Those matchups were:
* (1) Tampa Bay Rays (East Divisio ...
. He took the loss as he allowed four runs in innings.
Manaea and the Athletics agreed on a $5.95 million salary for the 2021 season. He led the AL with 32 starts and two shutouts for the Athletics in 2021, and went 11–10 with a 3.91 ERA (10th in the AL) with 194 strikeouts (8th) in 179.2 innings (8th), with 4.732 strikeouts/walk (4th), 2.058 walks per 9 innings (6th), 9.736 strikeouts per 9 innings (7th), 8.983 hits per 9 innings (9th), 1.255 home runs/9 innings (9th), and a 1.227 WHIP (10th). On March 22, 2022, Manaea signed a $9.75 million contract with Oakland, avoiding salary arbitration.
San Diego Padres
On April 3, 2022, the Athletics traded Manaea and Aaron Holiday to the San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...
for Adrián Martínez and Euribiel Angeles. In 2022 with San Diego he was 8–9 with a 4.96 ERA in 30 games (28 starts) in which he pitched 158 innings and struck out 156 batters.
Manaea became a free agent following the conclusion of the 2022 season.
San Francisco Giants
On December 16, 2022, Manaea signed a two-year, $25 million contract with the San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...
.
Personal life
Manaea's father, Faaloloi, moved from American Samoa
American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internationa ...
to Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
, served in the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
, and was then stationed in Indiana, where he immediately settled. Faaloloi worked for the Inland Steel Company
The Inland Steel Company was an American steel company active in 1893–1998. Its history as an independent firm thus spanned much of the 20th century. It was headquartered in Chicago at the landmark Inland Steel Building.
Inland Steel was an i ...
following his military service.[ His mother, Opal, is a factory worker.][ Manaea has two older brothers—a half-brother from his father's first marriage and a full brother.] One of his brothers, Dane, is in the United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
.
Manaea first visited American Samoa in 2014. There, he began his sleeve tattoo
A sleeve tattoo or tattoo sleeve is a large tattoo or collection of smaller tattoos that covers most or all of a person's arm. There is a difference between an arm covered in tattoos and a sleeve tattoo: a sleeve tattoo has a unified theme, wherea ...
, using traditional Samoan symbols.
See also
* List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manaea, Sean
1992 births
Living people
American sportspeople of Samoan descent
Baseball players from Indiana
Hyannis Harbor Hawks players
Indiana State Sycamores baseball players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Midland RockHounds players
Nashville Sounds players
Northwest Arkansas Naturals players
Oakland Athletics players
People from LaPorte County, Indiana
People from Merrillville, Indiana
San Diego Padres players
Stockton Ports players
Wilmington Blue Rocks players