Manny Acta

Trivia

• On July 12, 2009, Acta reported to ESPN Deportes' Enrique Rojas that he had been fired as Nationals manager following a 5-0 loss to the Houston Astros.
• He is one of the few managers who is aware of and employs sabermetric ideas and concepts, similar to those used by A's GM Billy Beane and Red Sox GM Theo Epstein.
• Acta received the job for his youth (he is the youngest active manager) 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 the Nationals, Acta did a credible job managing the team that was projected to be one of the worst teams in major league baseball.
• After holding this position for two years, Acta was hired on November 14, 2006 by the Nationals, returning to the team that gave him his first major league job (the Nationals being the former Expos who had relocated after the 2004 season).
• 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 his Mets and the St. Louis Cardinals.
• 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 was hired as the third base coach for the Montreal Expos under Frank Robinson in 2002, and held that position through 2005.
• He led the Kissimmee Cobras to a Florida State League championship in 1999.
• He became the manager of an A-level team in 1993, and he managed in the minors through 2000.
• In 1991, Acta became a player-coach at the A level, and soon after that quit his playing career and focused solely on coaching.

Quotes

• “The kid has shown that he's not intimidated at all. He's got terrific stuff. I think he can go against any lineup in this tournament.”
• “We had a window up until yesterday and it's just been shut. We support his decision, stand behind him - family comes first. And we're going to have to move on with what we have.”
• “There is a window in that we'll have big 27 show up for the next round. It's not etched in stone yet, but it's almost money in the bank and we're pretty excited about it.”
• “We're pretty excited. He's a guy that is really hurting right now because he's not here.”
• “We can feel the confidence he brings.”
• “I think it really helped [to understand him] that he went to a bigger market team.”
• “Most of the players here were not involved in the Caribbean Series. That was something that basically the fans were the ones that were really involved in that, took it personal. We were going to try to beat whoever we faced, whether they speak English, Spanish or Italian.”
• “It's a short tournament and we have to stay humble about it. It's baseball and anything can happen. We feel very good about the group we got here. We actually have the group we wanted and they seem to have the special love to play for their country.”
• “This will be a game watched by every Dominican soul, the 8 million we have on the island and all the others spread around the world.”
• “It is a sign of what we can do.”