Manny Acta
From BR Bullpen
Manuel Elias Acta Pena
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 2", Weight 205 lb.
[edit] Biographical Information
Infielder Manny Acta played in the Houston Astros minor league system for six seasons (1986-1991).
Acta started his post-playing career as a coach for the Asheville Tourists in 1992. He managed in the minors for the Astros from 1993 to 2000. He was then a coach for the New Orleans Zephyrs in 2001.
From 2002 to 2004, he was the third base coach for the Montreal Expos under manager Frank Robinson. He managed the team for a number of spring training games and one regular season game in 2004 and had a perfect winning record. The regular season game, a 4-2 win over the New York Mets on October 1 is not counted in Acta's statistics as Robinson was present at the game, even if he had let his deputy take the team's reins for a day. After the season, he followed general manager Omar Minaya to the New York Mets, for whom he was the third base coach in 2005 and 2006.
He managed the Dominican Republic's team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He has also been a manager in the Winter Leagues, leading the Dominican Republic's Licey Tigers to the Caribbean Series title in 2004.
He had been in the running for a number of Major League manager positions and was on the short list for the Arizona Diamondbacks job after the 2004 season, but lost out to Wally Backman (who had to resign the position a few days after being hired) and Bob Melvin. He finally was the successful candidate in the competition to succeed Robinson at the helm of the Washington Nationals following the 2006 season. He surprised everyone by keeping the Nationals out of the cellar in 2007 in spite of working with a depleted starting rotation all season. His excellent work with the young team earned him respect around Major League Baseball and put a stop to the talk that he had been hired solely to improve baseball's poor record on hiring minorities for management positions.
He has primarily worn number 14 in the Major Leagues.
| Preceded by Frank Robinson | Washington Nationals Manager 2007- | Succeeded by Current |
[edit] Year-by-Year Managerial Record
| Year | Team | League | Record | Finish | Organization | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Auburn Astros | New York-Penn League | 30-46 | 14th | Houston Astros | |
| 1994 | Auburn Astros | New York-Penn League | 45-31 | 2nd | Houston Astros | Lost League Finals |
| 1995 | Auburn Astros | New York-Penn League | 40-34 | 5th | Houston Astros | |
| 1996 | Auburn Doubledays | New York-Penn League | 37-39 | 8th | Houston Astros | |
| 1997 | Quad City River Bandits | Midwest League | 59-75 | 13th | Houston Astros | |
| 1998 | Kissimmee Cobras | Florida State League | 64-75 | 11th (t) | Houston Astros | |
| 1999 | Kissimmee Cobras | Florida State League | 71-66 | 6th | Houston Astros | League Champs |
| 2000 | Kissimmee Cobras | Florida State League | 73-66 | 6th | Houston Astros | |
| 2007 | Washington Nationals | National League | 73-89 | 4th | Washington Nationals | |
| 2008 | Washington Nationals | National League | Washington Nationals |
