All-Time MLB Players From Acadiana: Barry Manuel

There have been a number of individuals from Lafayette, and the Acadiana area, that have played in Major League Baseball over the years.

Obviously, the entire state of Louisiana has produced even more.

As a matter of fact, 246 people born in the state of Louisiana have appeared in a Major League Baseball game, beginning in 1874, with John Peters of New Orleans, who played 11 years, with the likes of the Chicago White Stockings, Milwaukee Grays, Providence Grays, Buffalo Bisons, and Pittsburgh Alleghenys.

All summer, we’ll preview a player from the state of Louisiana that appeared in Major League baseball, starting with players from Lafayette, before spotlighting players from the Acadiana area, and then a few from the state itself.

Earlier, we spotlighted Eric Hetzel.

Today, we feature Barry Manuel.

Born in Mamou in 1965, Manuel, a right-handed pitcher, played parts of five seasons in Major League Baseball, with the Texas Rangers (1991-1992), Montreal Expos (1996), New York Mets (1997), and Arizona Diamondbacks (1998).

After playing his high school baseball at Mamou High School, and then his college baseball at LSU, Manuel was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the second round of the 1987 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.

The 5-foot-11, 175-pound Manuel played for the Rangers minor league affiliates in the Gulf Coast League and in Port Charlotte, Florida in 1987, going 1-2 with a 6.97 ERA. in 14 games at the age of 21.

After spending 3-and-a-half more seasons in the minor leagues, including a stop at AA Tulsa, Manual was called up to the big leagues by the Rangers in September of 1991.

In his big league debut, against the Chicago White Sox, at the age of 26, Manuel pitched two innings of no-hit, no-run baseball.

It was a successful first month of MLB action for Manuel, as he went 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA., allowing 7 hits and 2 runs, over 16 innings of work, all in relief.

In 1992, Manuel again spent most of the year in the minor leagues, splitting time between AA Tulsa and AAA Oklahoma City, but did appear with the Rangers for three games early in the year, going 1-0 with a 4.76 ERA. in 5.2 innings of relief.

After spending three more seasons in the minor leagues, Manuel got another taste of MLB action in 1996, when he threw a career-high 86 innings for the Montreal Expos, going 4-1 with a 3.24 ERA.

Manuel then went to the New York Mets in 1997, going 0-1 with a 5.26 ERA. in 19 games, before moving to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1998, where he went 1-0 with a 7.47 ERA. in 13 appearances.

1998 was the last year that Manuel pitched in the big leagues, but we wasn't done with professional baseball, spending a year in Japan (1999), and a year (2000) with the Lafayette Bayou Bullfrogs of the Texas/Louisiana League, prior to retiring.

In 11 seasons in the minor leagues, Manuel went 42-66 with a 4.60 ERA, to go along with 79 saves.

In parts of 5 seasons in Major League Baseball, Manuel went 7-2 with a 3.87 ERA. appearing in 96 games, all as a reliever, allowing 135 hits and 64 earned runs over 149 innings, while striking out 109 batters.