Manny Sanguillen

Lore & Background

Sanguillén was born in Colón, Panama. He grew up in a tough barrio and didn't touch a baseball until he was nineteen, when he heard a pastor preaching sermons on a street corner, joined the Evangelical Baptist Church, and became a member of the church team. Two years later he was signed to play professional baseball. After the tragic death of Roberto Clemente before the 1973 season, the Pirates slated Sanguillen to take Clemente's place in right field.

By mid-June, it was apparent that Sanguillen couldn't adapt to playing the outfield and he was moved back to the catcher's position. Sanguillen was a close friend of his teammate Roberto Clemente. 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. 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.

Reader's Guide

Sanguillen currently operates 'Manny's BBQ', a barbecue-style concession stand at the Pirates' current home, PNC Park. 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 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. Sanguillen was subsequently also inducted into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame in 2024.

Did You Know?

• 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.
• Sanguillen was notorious for being a 'bad-ball' hitter, often irritating opposing pitchers and managers by hitting bad pitches for base hits.
• Sanguillen was the only player since 1900 with at least six straight seasons with 475 plate appearances and fewer than 22 walks.
• Sanguillen edged out Johnny Bench on The Sporting News National League All-Star Team in 1971, one of only two times between 1967 and 1975 that Bench was not selected (the other being 1968).