The Next Big Thing

There are several athletes who could call themselves the county’s best prep baseball player this season.

But Mater Dei senior Pat Manning has the strongest credentials.

Manning, 18, is coming off a 1998 season during which he had six doubles, nine home runs and 32 runs batted in.

“The best is yet to come,” Mater Dei Coach Bob Ickes said.

Manning is Baseball America’s seventh-best high school prospect and 16th best overall for the upcoming June free-agent draft. Manning already has a USC scholarship to fall back on if his draft position or contract offer isn’t to his liking.

He has a great arm, a quick bat and excellent power in his 6-0, 190-pound frame, according to the scouts, who say his only apparent weakness is average speed.

“One of his advantages is that he’s physically mature,” said Matt Lundean, a scout for the Yankees who was Manning’s Connie Mack coach last summer.

“Some high school kids are still only 150-160 [pounds] as seniors and it’s a guessing game. But Manning has a major league body right now. He is naturally strong, has great hand-eye coordination and gets great leverage in his swing. When he hits the ball, he gets everything into it.”

Manning’s goal “without a doubt” is to be a major league player, and he can’t wait to prove his worth.

“That stuff in Baseball America was great,” Manning said, “but it doesn’t mean anything until I get out and play.”

Before any individual glory, however, Manning said his mission is to send Ickes--who steps down as coach at the end of the season--out a winner.

He wants to help the Monarchs win their eighth consecutive South Coast League championship. And he wants to win a Southern Section championship. Mater Dei’s only section baseball title came in 1980.

“The [South Coast] league will have some great pitching,” Manning said. “Among the best will be Todd Geletka at Trabuco Hills, Jeff Goodman at San Clemente and Mission Viejo’s John Hudgins.

“But this year we could have the best team I’ve played on since my freshman year. “We’re a little short on pitching after [senior left-hander Nick] Lovato and [freshman left-hander] James Webster, but our bats should be tremendous. Third baseman Aaron Escobedo will be a star. Along with [outfielder] Jon Kinney, there is [second baseman] Troy Bokosky and [catcher] Josh Hansen.”

Long Career

Manning hasn’t been Mater Dei’s shortstop this entire decade. It just seems like it.

He is the only Monarch in Ickes’ 25 years of coaching at the school to be a varsity starter as a freshman. When Manning graduates in June he likely will be the school’s all-time leader in a number of categories.

Already in his pocket is the record for games played (83). He’s 15 shy of tying the mark for most career at-bats (266), nine short of tying the runs-scored record (78), 12 hits away from the school-record of 110, within five of tying the home run mark (25) and only 21 away from the RBI record (86).

Ickes said Manning is “one of the best I’ve ever coached.” But while Manning’s talent was obvious, even as a freshman, Ickes said it was still a difficult decision to put him on varsity in 1996.

“Even when I decided he could play varsity, I had reservations,” Ickes said. “I told his parents it was not good to start freshmen on varsity. I felt they had to earn what they got. And if you let a freshman start, he has to play at the varsity level. You can’t let them get away with mistakes and say, ‘He’s just a freshman.’

“I sat with him and his parents and let them know I would pull no punches. When he deserved for me to get in his face, I was going to do it, and he had to handle that. Over the first couple of years there were times I had to get in his face.”

Ickes and Manning have clashed at Mater Dei. Both said they are alike in temperament and in their passion for the game. Then there’s Manning’s baseball personality--great confidence bordering on arrogance--which can be grating and endearing.

“It is hard to stay mad at him,” said Ickes, who has named Manning a team captain three consecutive years, including this one. “He’s got that personality, some cockiness. When you get after him sometimes, you realize it won’t do any good.”

Manning admits he can sometimes rub people the wrong way. “There is a difference between being cocky and being confident,” he said. “I feel I’m confident. I’ve played against some of the best competition and done pretty well. But there is always room for improvement.”

He said he has deserved to be on the receiving end of Icke’s tirades, none more so than during the first game of the 1997 season.

“Me and [catcher] Brett Kay were running late, and we’re pulling up to the parking lot in my truck with the radio blasting,” Manning said. “Before I could open the door, Coach Ickes was in front of it and let me have it for about 10 minutes.

“But I look at him as a friend. You can talk to him about anything. When he leaves not only will Mater Dei miss him, but so will all of high school baseball.”

Manning’s teammates have enjoyed watching Manning and Ickes wrangle with each other, but they also respect their teammate’s playing ability.

“Pat is an interesting guy,” Kinney said. “You might argue with him one day and the next day it’s fun and games. He doesn’t hold grudges. You can tell when he and Coach Ickes have had an argument because they are not joking around. But the more fun Pat’s having, the better he plays.

“He’s taking on a bigger leadership role this season because he wants to win the [Southern Section] championship. He realizes it’s his team this season, that he’s the head guy.”

Lovato, who met Manning four years ago at a Mater Dei summer baseball camp, said, “I thought he was a stand-up guy the first time I met him and nothing’s changed. That’s important. You must respect your friends on and off the field. I really respect him on the field. He’s a great athlete and a real heads-up player.”

Lovato recalled a couple key defensive plays Manning made during the pitcher’s one-hitter against Trabuco Hills last year.

“There were two balls that were hit up the middle that he dove for and threw guys out on his knees,” Lovato said. “He makes the rest of the team want to play up to his level.”

Hot Summer

The summer of 1998 was best time of Manning’s baseball life.

He batted .442 in 31 games for the Orange County Connie Mack Giants. He hit 13 homers and drove in 42 runs as the Giants won the league championship for the third time in four years. His efforts earned Manning the league’s MVP.

After the Connie Mack season ended, Manning made his college choice: USC over Arizona State and Texas. “I wanted to stay nearby so my parents could watch me play,” he said.

In July, he traveled to Florida to join 100 top prospects in the Team One national baseball showcase. Upon returning to Orange County, Manning played in the Area Code games and was named an all-star.

Lundean thought he witnessed the defining moment of Manning’s summer.

“We were playing a team--I can’t remember the name--and Nick Neugebauer is pitching,” said Lundean, referring to the Riverside Arlington High graduate who signed with the Milwaukee Brewers.

“Everybody was there to is see Neugebauer and he is throwing 96 mph that night. It’s a 0-0 game in the fourth or fifth when Manning turns on a 96-mph fastball and hits it 400 feet to left field.

“I knew he was a competitor, but that night showed me he could take a big-time fastball and turn it around. And the thing was, Pat wasn’t surprised. He felt he should do that. Well, Nick was surprised. He said afterward that doesn’t happen to him often.”

Shows Improvement

Improving as a hitter is something Manning has done every season he has played at Mater Dei.

In 1996, he hit .308 with seven doubles, two home runs, and six RBIs. As a sophomore, he hit .398 with four doubles, nine homers and 22 RBIs and was named to The Times Orange County and All-Southern Section Division I second teams.

Then there was his big season last year.

Manning joined his teammate, Kinney, and Servite right-handed pitcher Brian Wolfe as the only juniors selected to The Times Orange County first team. Manning also was named to the All-Southern Section Division I first team.

On defense, however, after making only eight errors his first two seasons combined, Manning made 10 last year.

“I had more errors because rather than charge slow grounders and choppers, I kept waiting for balls to come to me,” he explained. “I’d let the ball play me, and I’d wind up hurrying the throws. If you let a ball take too many hops, it can have all kinds of crazy spin.

Manning also has a secret weapon--Rod Carew. Or rather a video taken of the Angels’ batting instructor while Manning, then age 12, took lessons at Carew’s private school.

“In 1997, when I was in a slump, I pulled it out and watched it again, listening to Rod discuss fundamentals,” Manning said. “He’s the best hitter there was, in my opinion. After watching the video, suddenly everything started clicking again.

“I still go back to it from time to time.”