6' 193 lbs. Born Manuel de Jesus Sanguillen (Magan) on March 24, 1944 in Colon, Panama, he
was 27 years old to start the season. He made his ML debut July 23, 1967. Nicknamed "The
Roadrunner", Manny was one of the premier catchers in baseball. He caught in 135 games for the
Pirates in '71, appearing in three others. Blessed with a great arm, enemy baserunners would think
twice. Manny was unusually fast for a catcher, leading all National League catchers with six
stolen bases. He usually batted seventh in the Pirates' potent order, occassionally hitting second
against left handed pitchers. Manny batted .267 with one RBI in the NLCS against the Giants, and
followed that by batting .379 with four RBI in the 1971 World Series win over Baltimore. In
Game One, a 5-3 loss in Baltimore, Manny scored Pittsburgh's second run from third on Jackie
Hernandez's perfectly executed squeeze.
Speedy for a catcher, free-swinging Manny Sanguillen had great hitting
ability, a strong arm, and a cat-like quality behind the plate. The
ever-smiling Panamanian twice finished third in the NL batting race: in
his second full season (1970), when he batted .325, and again in 1975,
when he hit a career-high .328. The bad-ball-hitting Sanguillen was a
good contact hitter, but rarely walked. Overshadowed by Johnny Bench, he
edged out the Cincinnati catcher on TSN's NL All-Star Team in 1971 - the
only time between 1967 and 1975 that Bench was not selected. He was
durable, catching more than 100 games in seven of his first eight full
seasons with the Pirates. The exception was 1973, the season after his
close friend, Roberto Clemente, was killed in an airplane crash;
Sanguillen was chosen to replace Clemente in right field. The move did
not work and Sanguillen returned to catching. After playing for five
division-champion Pirate clubs, Sanguillen was sent with $100,000 to
Oakland for Chuck Tanner in a rare player-for-manager trade on November
5, 1976. Pittsburgh reacquired the popular Sanguillen in April 1978. His
pinch single with two out in the ninth in Game Two of the 1979 World
Series gave the Pirates a 3-2 victory.
