If there's one guy more low-key than former Mets skipper Willie Randolph, it's interim manager Jerry Manuel.
Manuel, 54, is considered to have a Zen-like approach to the game, and finds inspiration from the teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Gandi and Leo Tolstoy.
"A lot of what Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi talked about was truth, and in a roundabout way, that's all the players want -- truth," Manuel told the New York Times in 2007.
Manuel was the AL Manager of the Year in 2000 when he led the White Sox to a division title. The White Sox finished 95-67 that season but were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Seattle Mariners. In six seasons at the helm for the White Sox, his record was 500-471 (.515). His clubs finished second four times. Despite his reputation as a good communicator, he was unable to find another managing job. He was hired by Randolph before the 2005 season as the first-base coach.
Manuel was drawn into controversy after the 2006 season when Cliff Floyd told Newsday's Ken Davidoff that Willie Randolph was "confused" during the ninth inning of Game 7 of the NLCS against the Cardinals. Floyd was sent up as a pinch-hitter with first and second and no one out. Floyd said that Randolph deferred to Manuel because Randolph wasn't sure whether Floyd should bunt or swing away. Manuel, according to Floyd, told Willie to let him swing. Floyd struck out. Randolph later disagreed with Floyd's version of the what happened, but did not get into specifics.
Manuel's professional playing career lasted 14 years but only resulted in 127 major-league at-bats. He batted .150 with three home runs. He is the father-in-law of former major-leaguer Rondell White.
-- Hank Winnicki
Original Source : http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-spmanuel0618,0,6563035.story
