Bringing Their Best

As Pat Manning stood dejectedly on second base, watching Riverside Arlington get the final out in its 3-2 victory over Mater Dei in the Southern Section Division I semifinal, a million thoughts raced through his head--all painful.

The biggest disappointment was not keeping a promise Manning and his teammates made with each other to send retiring Coach Bob Ickes out a winner. Ickes was practically a second father to Manning, the only player under Ickes to start four years on varsity.

“It is tough knowing he won’t be there next year,” Manning said. “He has been there through good and bad times. From not doing well in school to not playing well. He’s been through it all with me. I see him not only as a coach but a good friend. I learned so much from him--not only baseball but stuff you can take into everyday life.”

Of course Manning, too, hated not playing in the championship game. But Manning hates to miss any baseball game. Manning sees the game as theater and considers himself an actor able to play whatever role is required, the hero with a game-winning hit or the complementary player who does the little things--sacrifice bunts, slick fielding plays--to ensure a successful production.

This season, Manning was a great performer and player. He batted .494 with 12 homers and 37 runs batted in. At shortstop he made only three errors in 28 games. Teams pitched to him only out of necessity--in one game Manning watched 13 straight pitches out of the strike zone--but he led Mater Dei to a seventh straight South Coast League championship.

And he did it under the pressure of being considered the top pro baseball draft prospect in the county.

That is why Manning is The Times Orange County player of the year, beating out other top candidates, including Servite’s Brian Wolfe, Trabuco Hills’ Eric Bowden, El Toro’s Josue Lopez and Corona del Mar’s Ty Harper.

“The biggest thing for him was meeting the pressure of all the people coming to see him,” said Ickes, referring to the college and professional scouts who attended Mater Dei games. “A lot of kids can’t handle that. They want to impress too much. But he played his game and locked out that other part.

“As a coach he keeps you on your toes. He’s a very loose dude. I had to become a little looser and understanding myself, because the team fed off his looseness. He finds your limit and takes you there. But he understands my expectations and never pushed that.”

Manning said he understood he would be under the microscope all season. “I knew the expectations were high,” he said. But Manning said he had prepared himself for the attention and distractions by studying closely how La Quinta’s Gerald Laird--a two-time Times player of the year who signed with Oakland this week after a season at Cypress College--went about his business.

“I watched Laird play with a [Seattle] Mariners scout team in Arizona two years ago,” Manning said. “I knew I wanted to be considered a top player as a senior and saw how hard I had to work. You won’t be the best on every team you play; that’s a fact of life. But I will not be outworked.”

Basketball players who are always working on their games are called gym rats. Manning is considered a field rat. He is never more comfortable or more confident than when he is on a baseball field. The running joke at Mater Dei is that Manning knows every blade of infield grass by its first name.

But it’s that kind of effort and desire that turned Manning into the player the Atlanta Braves signed for a $700,000 bonus after drafting him in the third round. Manning, who gave up a scholarship to USC, will report to Atlanta’s team in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League by June 15.

“I call him a ‘dirt’ player,” said Paul Snyder, the Braves’ director of scouting and player development. “He’s not afraid to get his uniform dirty. He’s no prima donna. He just wants to play. All of our scouts who saw Pat believe he could become a complete player, even though we’re not sure about his speed.”

Snyder likened Manning at this stage of his career to Bret Boone, who played at El Dorado High and is the current Atlanta second baseman.

“I remember in 1987, when we decided to draft another kid from [Orange County] named Tom Reddington,” Snyder said. “We were at an all-star game. Boone came up to me and Reddington and said in front of Reddington that we had made a mistake and drafted the wrong guy. He had an unshakable confidence. Pat has that, too.”

Trabuco Hills Coach Tim Ellis, who had a pretty good shortstop named Nomar Garciaparra (now with the Red Sox) when he coached at Bellflower St. John Bosco, said Manning’s drive and determination should carry him far.

“He’s the kind of guy that will step up in crucial situations,” Ellis said. “He brings his best game into the toughest games. He thrives in those situations. He wants to be at plate or have the ball hit to him with game on the line.

“He is fundamentally sound and smooth. I heard people say his defense was questionable but it was good against us. And he’s a tough out late in the game, because he can hit the ball to all fields.”

Ickes also believes Manning--who graduates with almost every school career hitting record and is tied with Edison’s Tony Cappuccilli as the county’s all-time career home run leader (32)--will do well as a professional.

With one reservation.

“At the next level he has to understand there will be other big-time players like him and he may not be the best on the field day to day,” Ickes said. “He’s never had that before.

“This year he was the guy. Now he has to handle being one of five or six guys. But he has met every challenge so far.”

Manning said he is ready. As childhood friends he and Aaron Escobedo played catch in front of their homes every day and dreamed of being pro players. All the hours, weeks, months and years of ground balls and batting practice have brought him to this point.

“When I see a player I know is better than me or people say is better than me, it makes me work harder,” Manning said.