Manny Acta

Manny Acta
Acta in May 2010
Manager
Born: (1969-01-11) January 11, 1969 San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 2, 2007 for the Washington Nationals
Career statistics
Games	890
Win–loss Record	372–518
Winning %	.418
Teams
Washington Nationals (2007–2009) Cleveland Indians (2010–2012) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2013-present

Manuel Elias Acta (born January 11, 1969) is a former professional baseball manager. He has served as manager for the Washington Nationals and the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball. In the Dominican Winter League, he managed the Tigres del Licey from 2003–2005, including leading them to victory at the 2004 Caribbean Series. Acta managed the Dominican Republic team at the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Only two managers in Major League Baseball history have managed more games than Acta and had a lower winning percentage than Acta's .418 mark.

Playing career

Houston Astros

Acta was signed by the Houston Astros at age 17 as a first baseman. He reached Double-A as a backup first baseman and an outfielder at age 20. Acta played baseball professionally for six seasons, all in the Astros' system, but never reached the major leagues as a player. The Astros organization would eventually send him to scouting school in Florida to utilize his analytical skills rather than his athletic talent.

Coaching career

Minor Leagues

In 1991, Acta became a player-coach at the A level, and soon after that quit his playing career and focused solely on coaching. He became the manager of an A-level team in 1993, and he managed in the minors through 2000. He led the Kissimmee Cobras to a Florida State League championship in 1999.

Montreal Expos

Acta was hired as the third base coach for the Montreal Expos under Frank Robinson in 2002, and held that position through 2005.

New York Mets

After failed interviews for managerial positions with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers^{[citation needed]}, Acta was hired as the third base coach for the New York Mets under manager Willie Randolph. He held this position for two years.

Washington Nationals

Acta as manager of the Washington Nationals in 2007.

Acta was hired as manager of the Washington Nationals on November 14, 2006, returning to the franchise that gave him his first major league job (the Nationals were the Expos prior to its relocation following the 2004 season). Acta received the job for his youth and enthusiasm, as well as knowing a few of the Nationals players from his third base coaching job with the Expos. In his first season with Washington, projected to be one of the worst teams in Major League Baseball, Acta and the Nationals finished 73–89. He is one of the few managers who is aware of and employs sabermetric ideas and concepts.^{[citation needed]} With his team beset by many injuries, Acta maintained a positive influence on his young Nationals. In his first year with the Nationals he earned votes for NL Manager of the Year, coming in sixth in that contest.^{[citation needed]} In his second season managing the Nats, the team's record worsened to 59–102. Signs of the team progressing in the win column was not being realized during the beginning of his third season with the club. At 26–61, and the Nats coming off a 100-loss season, including a seven-game road trip in which they would win just one game, Acta's time as manager was drawing to a close.

On July 12, 2009, Acta reported he had been fired as Nationals manager following a loss to the Houston Astros. The Nationals announced on their website on July 13 that an announcement concerning the dismissal was forthcoming, which served as a confirmation of the firing. Nationals bench coach Jim Riggleman, who had previously managed the San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, and Seattle Mariners, assumed the position as interim manager.

Cleveland Indians

On October 25, 2009, the Cleveland Indians announced that they had hired Acta as their manager, signing him to a three-year contract with an option for an additional year. The Astros had also offered Acta their managerial position. The Indians struggled in his first year, marginally improving from their 2009 campaign at 69–93. In his second season, the Indians improved by 11 games to 80–82 after starting out the season 30–15. Cleveland would finish in second place, fourteen games behind the Detroit Tigers. On September 29, 2011, the Indians announced they had exercised Acta's option for the 2013 season.

After a 20-51 record in the second half of the 2012 season, the Indians fired Acta on September 27, 2012, with only six games remaining in the regular season. Bench coach Sandy Alomar, Jr. was named interim manager., and Terry Francona eventually was named to the position full-time.

Personal life

The fatal plane crash on October 11, 2006, that killed New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle and his pilot crashed into Acta's apartment building in New York while he was still coaching for the Mets. Acta wasn't there at the time because he had gone to Shea Stadium to prepare for that night's Game 1 of the NLCS between the Mets and St. Louis Cardinals.^{[citation needed]}

His ImpACTA Kids Foundation has raised a significant amount of awareness and donations in providing children with the opportunities to achieve their dreams. As of 2010, the ImpACTA Kids Foundation has awarded $5,000 in college scholarships in the United States and neared completion of an athletic/education youth complex in Consuelo, Dominican Republic.

See also

• List of Cleveland Indians managers

External links

• Manny Acta managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com
• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Manny Acta profile provided by mwlguide.com
• Column by Tim Brown provided by Yahoo! Sports

Sporting positions
Preceded by Steve Dillard	Auburn Astros Manager 1993–1995	Succeeded by last Auburn Astros Manager
Preceded by first Auburn Doubledays Manager	Auburn Doubledays Manager 1996	Succeeded by Mike Rojas
Preceded by Jim Pankovits	Quad City River Bandits 1997	Succeeded by Mike Rojas
Preceded by John Tamargo	Kissimmee Cobras Manager 1998–2001	Succeeded by last Kissimmee Cobras Manager
Preceded by Jeff Cox	Montreal Expos Third Base Coach 2002–2004	Succeeded by last Montreal Expos Third Base Coach
Preceded by Matt Galante	New York Mets Third Base Coach 2005–2006	Succeeded by Sandy Alomar, Sr.
Preceded by Frank Robinson	Washington Nationals Manager 2007-2009	Succeeded by Jim Riggleman
Preceded by Eric Wedge	Cleveland Indians Manager 2010–present	Succeeded by Sandy Alomar, Jr.