Manuel De Jesus Sanguillén Magan, better known as Manny Sanguillén or "Sangy" (born March 21, 1944), is a

Panamanian Panamanians (Spanish: ''Panameños'') are people identified with Panama, a transcontinental country in Central America (a region within North America) and South America, whose connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For ...

former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player. He 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 (A ...

as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the cat ...

in and from through , most notably as a member of the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

teams that won five National League Eastern Division titles in six years between and and won the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

in and , twice over the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

. He also played one season for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

. A three-time All-Star, Sanguillén's lifetime batting average of .296 is the fourth-highest by a catcher since World War II, and tenth-highest for catchers in Major League Baseball history. Although he was often overshadowed by his contemporary,

Johnny Bench John Lee Bench (born December 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career, which lasted from through , with the Cincinnati Reds, primarily as a catcher. Bench was the leader of t ...

, Sanguillén was considered one of the best catchers in Major League baseball in the early 1970s.''Two Catchers Cut From Royal Cloth'', by Ron Fimrite, Sports Illustrated, June 26, 1972
/ref> While he didn't possess Bench's power hitting ability, Sanguillen hit for a higher batting average."Warm Up Tosses," by John Kuenster, ''Baseball Digest'', September 1972, Vol. 31, No. 9
He was an integral member of the Pirates teams that won three consecutive National League Eastern Division pennants between

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

and

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

, and a World Series victory in 1971. Sanguillen was also a fast baserunner for a catcher and was a good defensive player with a strong throwing arm.

Major League career

Sanguillén was born in

Colón, Panama Colón () is a city and seaport in Panama, beside the Caribbean Sea, lying near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. It is the capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama's second city. Originally it was ...

. He was notorious for being a "bad-ball" hitter. Most pitchers will try to strike out an aggressive, free-swinging hitter by forcing him to swing at pitches outside the strike zone when he had two strikes on him. Sanguillen often irritated opposing pitchers and managers by hitting bad pitches for base hits. He rarely walked, and was the only player since 1900 with at least six straight seasons with 475 plate appearances and fewer than 22 walks. This was also why, in spite of his high batting average, his on-base percentage was lower than the league average over his career. After playing for three years in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in N ...

, Sanguillen joined the Pirates in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

, playing in 30

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (suc ...

. He played another season in the minor leagues in 1968, before returning to the Major Leagues in

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

. He replaced Jerry May as the Pirates starting catcher and posted a .303 batting average. He solidified his reputation as one of the top hitting catchers in baseball by hitting for a .325 batting average in

, finishing third in the National League batting championship behind

Rico Carty Ricardo Adolfo Jacobo Carty (born September 1, 1939), nicknamed "Beeg Boy", is a Dominican former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1963 to 1979, most prominently as a member of the Atlanta ...

and

Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseb ...

. Sanguillen was a valuable member of the world champion

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events J ...

Pirates. He had his best year in terms of offensive production by hitting for a .319 batting average, while hitting 7

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 ...

s and 81

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the b ...

. He also had his best year defensively, finishing third among National League catchers in games caught (135), second in base runners

caught stealing In baseball, a runner is charged, and the fielders involved are credited, with a time caught stealing when the runner attempts to advance or lead off from one base to another without the ball being batted and then is tagged out by a fielder whil ...

(37), caught stealing percentage (51.4%),

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, di ...

(.994) and first in assists (72). The Pirates won the National League Eastern Division pennant by 7 games over 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 ...

, then defeated 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 Yo ...

in the

1971 National League Championship Series The 1971 National League Championship Series was a best-of-five series that pitted the East Division champion Pittsburgh Pirates against the West Division champion San Francisco Giants. The Pirates won the Series three games to one and won the 19 ...

, before winning the

against the

.1971 World Series at Baseball Reference
/ref> In the seven-game series, Sanguillen had a .379 batting average with 11 hits, second only to the 12 hits by

Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After his early death, he was pos ...

.Manny Sanguillén post-season batting statistics at Baseball Reference
/ref> After the tragic death of Roberto Clemente before the

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

season, the Pirates slated Sanguillen to take Clemente's place in

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...

."Sanguillen...Out From Clemente's Shadow," by Bob Lenoir, ''Baseball Digest'', July 1975, Vol. 34, No. 7
By mid-June, it was apparent that Sanguillen couldn't adapt to playing the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball a ...

and he was moved back to the catcher's position. Sanguillen had another strong year in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, when he posted a .328 batting average, third in the National League batting championship behind

Bill Madlock Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock, Jr. (born January 12, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from 1973 to 1987. Madlock is notable for being a four-time National League b ...

and

Ted Simmons Ted Lyle Simmons (born August 9, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. A switch-hitter, Simmons was a catcher for most of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the St. Louis Cardinals (1968–1980), the Milwau ...

. In

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

, Sanguillen was traded by the Pirates to the

for the services of then-A's manager

Chuck Tanner Charles William Tanner (July 4, 1928February 11, 2011) was an American professional baseball player and manager. A left fielder and pinch hitter who appeared in 396 games in Major League Baseball between 1955 and 1962, he was known for his unwav ...

and $100,000 as a settlement of Tanner's contract with the A's.Manny Sanguillen Trades and Transactions at Baseball Almanac
/ref> After one season with the A's, Sanguillen was traded back to the Pirates for

Miguel Diloné Miguel Ángel Diloné Reyes (born November 1, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball switch hitting outfielder. He played 12 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Montreal Exp ...

and Elías Sosa. He played in only 85 games in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

, mostly as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Ed Ott Nathan Edward Ott (born July 11, 1951), nicknamed "Otter", is an American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1974 to 1981, most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh ...

and Duffy Dyer platooned at the catcher's position. His playing time diminished further in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

, playing in only 56 games, although he contributed a two-

out Out may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 * ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander * ''Out'' (2002 film), a Japanese film ba ...

, game-winning single and RBI for the Pirates in Game 2 of the

1979 World Series The 1979 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1979 season. The 76th edition of the World Series was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Pittsburgh Pirates (98–64) and ...

against the

Orioles Oriole or Orioles may refer to: Animals * Old World oriole, colorful passerine birds in the family Oriolidae * New World oriole, a group of birds in the family Icteridae Music * The Orioles, an R&B and doo-wop group of the late 1940s and earl ...

. The 1980 season was Sanguillen's last in the majors, although he returned in 1982 to play in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. Sanguillen was a close friend of his teammate

. In 1972, Sanguillen, who had been playing winter baseball with the San Juan Senators, spoke to Clemente about accompanying him on a relief mission to

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the coun ...

. Sanguillen missed the plane because he had misplaced his car key and was totally devastated when he learned the plane had crashed, killing Clemente. Against the advice of Pirates General Manager Joe Brown, Sanguillen insisted on helping to recover the bodies of those who died in the crash. The sight of many sharks swimming in the water did not stop Sanguillen. As Pirates teammate Steve Blass told ''The Sporting News'', "Manny dove from dawn till midnight." So focused on this task was he that he missed the January 4 memorial service attended by his Pirates teammates.

Career statistics

In a 13-year career, Sanguillen played in 1,448

, accumulating 1,500

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...

in 5,062

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

for a .296 career batting average, along with 65 home runs and 585

. He ended his career with a .986 fielding percentage. Sanguillen was the Pirates' catcher on September 20,

when

Bob Moose Robert Ralph Moose Jr. (October 9, 1947 – October 9, 1976) was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates from through . Moose was a mem ...

pitched a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

. Along with his three All-Star Game appearances, he was a member of two world championship winning teams in 1971 and

, and finished in eighth place in the Most Valuable Player Award balloting results. Sanguillen edged out Johnny Bench on

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

National League All-Star Team in , the only time between and that Bench was not selected. Sanguillen currently operates "Manny's BBQ", a barbecue-style concession stand at the Pirates' current home,

PNC Park PNC Park is a baseball stadium on the North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). It was opened during the 2001 MLB season, after the controlled implosion of the Pira ...

. He sits in a chair greeting fans in line to buy food, signing autographs and posing for photos. Before the Pirates' win over the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

at PNC Park on August 24, 2019, Sanguillen was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame in a special ceremony before over 26,000 fans.

References

External links

Manny Sanguillén
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Manny Sanguillén
at Baseball Almanac
"Superstardom Ahead For Sanguillen?," by Al Abrams, ''Baseball Digest'', June 1970
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanguillen, Manny 1944 births Living people Batavia Pirates players Bradenton Explorers players Broncos de Reynosa players Columbus Jets players Florida Instructional League Pirates players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball players from Panama National League All-Stars Oakland Athletics players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Mexico Panamanian expatriate baseball players in the United States Sportspeople from Colón, Panama Pittsburgh Pirates players Raleigh Pirates players