Drafted: Selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 12th round of the 1983 free-agent draft; did not sign ... Selected by the San Francisco Giants in the second round of the 1986 free-agent draft.
Pre-Majors Highlights: Attended Coastal Carolina University and was inducted into the school's Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.

Scouting Report

1998 Season
Kirt Manwaring once again split the Rockies' catching chores with the lefthanded-hitting Jeff Reed. Manwaring opened strongly with the bat and was still hitting above .300 the first week of May. He faded in the final two months however, collecting only 14 hits in his last 74 at-bats.


Hitting, Baserunning & Defense
Manwaring is not much of a threat at the plate. Hard throwers can overpower him. He's willing to put the ball in play and hope that Coors Field can help him. He was feeble on the road last year, batting .179 compared to .315 in Denver. He can handle the bat, making him a viable candidate to bunt or hit-and-run. He's slow and wise enough to not force the issue on the basepaths. Defense is his strength. He still has a strong arm but is prone to throwing slumps. He's as good as they come blocking the plate. He excels at handling a staff, and pitchers trust his knowledge and receiving skills.


1999 Outlook
The all-out approach Manwaring takes to catching and his refusal to give into injuries have taken a toll on his body. He's best suited for a backup role after re-signing as a free agent for one year and $950,000. He can be a solid No. 2 receiver because of his ability to run a pitching staff.


Scouting Report Source: STATS, Inc. Copyright 1998 STATS, Inc.

Career Notes

1996
Signed by the Colorado Rockies as a free agent on Dec. 9, 1996 ... A former Gold Glove winner with San Francisco(1993), he finished the season with the National League's second-highest percentage of throwing out basestealers (45 percent) ... Traded by the San Francisco Giants to the Houston Astros for catcher Rick Wilkins on July 26.

1995
Made his fourth consecutive Opening Day start at catcher April 26 at Atlanta, matching Marc Hill (1977-80) for the third most consecutive Opening Day starts behind the plate in San Francisco history ... Was second in the NL behind Colorado's Joe Girardi (122) by appearing in 118 games behind the plate ... Played most of the second half of the season with five broken ribs on his right side, after getting injured in the July 18 game vs. Florida ... Over his first 17 games through May 17 was hitting just .200 (10-for-50) ... Over 28 games from May 18-June 23 found his stroke and hit .315 (28-for-89).

1994
Finished second on the club with 18 doubles ... Had fire/ice final portion of the season hitting .114 (5-for-44) for 13 games before closing out the season on a .410 (16-for-39) tear ... Started in 96 of his 97 games played ... Threw out 32.2 percent (28-for-87) of potential base thieves but only four of his last 30.

1993
Nailed 42.3 percent of would-be base stealers from behind the plate (second in the NL) ... Posted career highs in batting (.275), games (130), hits (119), homers (5), runs (48) and RBI (49) ... Earned the Willie Mac Award for the most inspirational player on the team (voted by his teammates) ... Hit .377 in July (fourth best in the NL) ... Started 73 of Giants' final 83 games.

1992
Reached base safely with a hit in his first five games of the year ... Notched first homer in 540 at-bats Sept. 19 ... Set new career marks at that time for games, at-bats, hits, doubles, triples, homers and RBI ... His five triples tied a San Francisco record for a catcher ... Led the NL by throwing out 42.9 percent of potential base stealers.

1991
Played in two games before his demotion to Class AAA Phoenix of the Pacific Coast League April 24 ... After various disabled list visits before the All-Star break, he started 55 of the Giants' 81 games in the second half.

1990
Gunned down 43 percent of would-be base runners for Class AAA Phoenix (league leader) ... His .990 fielding percentage, behind the plate, also paced the league ... Called up by the Giants July 18 and made a splash in his debut with an RBI triple, while blocking the plate twice to prevent runs from scoring ... Played in only eight games for the Giants all year.

1989
Posted a career best four RBI with a bases loaded triple July 18 ... Threw out 40.4 percent of would-be base runners ... Appeared behind the plate in three of the five NL Championship games against the Cubs ... Doubled and scored in his first and only at-bat against Oakland in the World Series.

1988
Brought up from the minors on three separate occasions during the year ... Hit .294 in his first call-up ... Knocked his first big league ball over the wall Sept. 19 ... Posted a then career high .282 average in 81 games at Class AAA Phoenix.

1987
Made first major league debut Sept. 15 after 98 games with Class AA Shreveport of the Texas League ... Collected first big league hit Oct. 2.