Michael Seth Maness ( ; born October 14, 1988) is an American former
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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Mod ...
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 ...
. He previously played in
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) for the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
and
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
.
Early life and amateur career
Maness was born in
Pinehurst, North Carolina
Pinehurst is a village in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 13,124. It is home of the historic Pinehurst Resort, a Golf resort, which has hosted multiple United States Open Champion ...
. The son of Michael Maness and Jan Andrews Benton, he has two siblings—Bailey and Tanner.
He attended
Pinecrest High School Pinecrest High School is ranked 105th within North Carolina. Students have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement® coursework and exams. The AP® participation rate at Pinecrest High School is 40%. The total minority enrollment is 38%, and 24% ...
in
Southern Pines, North Carolina
Southern Pines is a town in Moore County, North Carolina, Moore County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 12,334 as of the 2010 United States Census.
History
Southern Pines was founded as a winter health resort for Northeastern U ...
, where he played for the school's baseball team. As a sophomore, he earned first team All-State and conference Player of the Year honors.
His father served as one of his
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
es.
[http://www.news-leader.com/article/20120814/SPORTS02/308140030/springfield-cardinals-seth-maness/]
![Seth Maness-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Seth_Maness-1.jpg)
Following high school, Maness enrolled at
East Carolina University
East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina.
Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...
, majoring in
accounting
Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...
.
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 pl ...
for the
East Carolina Pirates
The East Carolina Pirates are the athletic teams that represent East Carolina University (ECU), located in Greenville, North Carolina. All varsity-level sports teams participate at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division ...
where he became a four-time first team All-Conference USA performer (2008–11). In 2009, he played
collegiate summer baseball
Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...
with the
Bourne Braves
The Bourne Braves are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bourne, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Braves play their home games at Doran Park on the c ...
of the
Cape Cod Baseball League
The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...
. He finished his ECU career as the Pirates career leader in wins (38), strike outs (321), innings pitched (411.2), and games started (61). In 2010 Maness was named Conference USA Pitcher of the Year. The
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park.
The franc ...
drafted Maness in the 41st round of the
2010 MLB draft
The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey.
First-round selections
The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pic ...
, but he did not sign.
Professional career
St. Louis Cardinals
The
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
selected Maness in the 11th round of the
2011 MLB draft, and he signed with them.
Maness started his professional career with the
Batavia Muckdogs
The Batavia Muckdogs are a collegiate summer baseball team in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL). They are located in Batavia, a city in Genesee County, New York, United States. Their home field is Dwyer Stadium in the city of Ba ...
of the
Class A-Short Season
Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...
New York–Penn League
The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...
. After appearing in the All-Star Game, the Cardinals promoted him to the
Palm Beach Cardinals
The Palm Beach Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roge ...
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 ...
Florida State League
The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...
. He finished the season with the
Quad Cities River Bandits
The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Their home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park (formerly John O'Donnell Stadium) in Davenport, Iowa, one ...
of the
Class A Midwest League
The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...
.
Maness is noted for his
control
Control may refer to:
Basic meanings Economics and business
* Control (management), an element of management
* Control, an element of management accounting
* Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization
* Controllin ...
: in
innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...
in 2012, he allowed only ten
walks.
Maness was named to the
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 ...
postseason All-Star team in 2012. On November 30, 2012, Maness was named the Cardinals' Minor League Pitcher of the Year. His efforts on the mound helped Double A Springfield as they were named Minor League Team of the Year by Baseball America. On April 29, 2013, Maness was called up to the major leagues due to the Cardinals' struggling bullpen.
![Sethmannescards2015](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Sethmannescards2015.jpg)
Maness made his MLB debut on May 3. He pitched one inning in his debut, against the
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...
at
Miller Park
American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium used primarily for baseball. It is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, just southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Milwauk ...
in the eighth inning, giving up no hits, and getting three consecutive groundouts (the third out hit to him) for his debut, following the seventh inning debut of
Carlos Martinez who was brought up earlier that day.
On May 15, 2013, he became the first Cardinal rookie pitcher since 1900 with three relief wins in his first five major league appearances. In 66 games with St. Louis, Maness went 5–2 with 15 holds, 1 save and a 2.32 ERA, striking out 35 in 62 innings. He led the team in ERA.
Maness pitched five effective
inning
In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...
s in the Cardinals postseason run, posting an
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 ...
of 1.80. The one earned run he surrendered was a three-run
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
to
Jonny Gomes
Jonathan Johnson Gomes (; born November 22, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and coach. He is the minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He playe ...
in Game 4 of the
2013 World Series
The 2013 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2013 season. The 109th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the National Lea ...
. The Cardinals would not lead in a World Series game after this home run, falling in six games.
An
arbitration
Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ' ...
-eligible player prior to the
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
season, Maness and the Cardinals agreed to a one-year, $1.4 million contract on January 15, 2016.
After yielding a 6.39 ERA for the season, and his velocity on all four pitches down 2-3 mph, he landed on the DL for the first time in his career on May 14, after an exam revealed an inflammation on his right (pitching) elbow. He was having pitching difficulties, getting hit hard in his previous inning work against the
Anaheim Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...
on May 12. For the season, he has a 6.39
ERA
An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth.
Comp ...
and 1.97
WHIP
A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
in innings. He will eventually be able to join a Minor League affiliate on a rehab assignment, instead of as a member of that club's roster. That rehab assignment can last up to 30 days. On August 16, Maness was placed on the disabled list with an elbow strain. It was later revealed that Maness would need to undergo
Tommy John surgery
Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...
, effectively ending his 2016 season and likely for most of the 2017 season.
After a medical review of his injury, Maness had surgery on August 18, to fix his
Ulnar collateral ligament of elbow joint
The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) or internal lateral ligament is a thick triangular ligament at the medial aspect of the elbow uniting the distal aspect of the humerus to the proximal aspect of the ulna.
Structure
It consists of two portion ...
instead of Tommy John surgery ligament replacement, drastically reducing his recovery time from 12–15 months to 6–8 months, which would make him available for Spring Training in 2017.
The Cardinals
non-tendered him on December 2, 2016, making him a free agent.
Kansas City Royals
On February 13, 2017, the Royals announced that Maness signed a minor league contract, with a $1.25 million incentive for reaching the major leagues. The Royals promoted Maness to the major leagues on May 10. He resigned a minor league deal on November 2, 2017. Maness was released from the organization on May 10, 2018.
High Point Rockers
On February 7, 2019, Maness signed with the
High Point Rockers
The High Point Rockers are an American professional baseball team based at Truist Point ballpark in High Point, North Carolina, which is part of the Piedmont Triad region. They are members of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Profession ...
of the
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball
The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...
.
Texas Rangers
On May 1, 2019, Maness's contract was purchased by the
Texas Rangers and he was assigned to the
Triple-A Nashville Sounds
The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...
. He produced a 8–4 record with a 5.38 ERA over 117 innings for Nashville and was named a 2019
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
All-Star. He became a free agent on November 4, 2019. On October 14, 2020, Maness announced his retirement from professional baseball.
Coaching career
In January 2022, Maness joined the
UNC Wilmington
The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW or UNC Wilmington) is a public research university in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina System and enrolls 17,499 undergraduate and graduate students eac ...
men's baseball team as the Coordinator of Player Development and spent the entire Spring 2022 season with the Seahawks. On August 18, 2022, Maness was hired by
Florida State University
Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...
as a Graduate Assistant coaching under
Link Jarrett
Lincoln "Link" Jarrett (born January 26, 1972) is an American college baseball coach and former shortstop, who is the current head baseball coach of the Florida State Seminoles. Jarrett played college baseball at Florida State University from 19 ...
, Maness' assistant coach during his collegiate playing career at
East Carolina
East Carolina University (ECU) is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina.
Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its orig ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maness, Seth
1988 births
Living people
Major League Baseball pitchers
Baseball players from North Carolina
People from Pinehurst, North Carolina
St. Louis Cardinals players
Kansas City Royals players
East Carolina Pirates baseball players
Bourne Braves players
Batavia Muckdogs players
Palm Beach Cardinals players
Quad Cities River Bandits players
Springfield Cardinals players
Memphis Redbirds players
Omaha Storm Chasers players
High Point Rockers players
Nashville Sounds players