‘Welcome to the big leagues’: Former Lake City, WSU star Manzardo makes his major league debut with Cleveland

By MARK NELKE

Sports editor

At 3:41 p.m. PDT on Monday, with his parents watching after flying in earlier in the day from Coeur d’Alene, former Lake City High star Kyle Manzardo made his major league debut with the Cleveland Guardians.

Batting seventh and serving as the designated hitter, Manzardo struck out on a foul tip on the fourth pitch in his first at-bat. With a handful of friends and other family members looking on, he finished 0 for 3 with three strikeouts in the Guardians’ 2-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

“Welcome to the big leagues,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt told the media after the game. “It’s hard to hit here, and it’s Day 1. And he’s here; he’s earned it, be yourself. Everybody’s going to have a three-strikeout game — if you haven’t, you haven’t been here long enough. It’s fun to have him; he’s smiling ear-to-ear after the game, because winning matters here.

“I’m so happy for him and his family; what a great night for them. And, welcome to the big leagues.”

Playing this season at Triple-A Columbus, Manzardo got the word Sunday he was moving up to The Show after the Clippers’ game Sunday. And in true baseball fashion, the club tried to pull his leg a little bit with the news, Manzardo said Monday afternoon in Cleveland, in a pregame media availability with local media.

Manzardo showed Sunday morning for a day game in Columbus, planning to play first base.

He was told he was going to be “down” for the game, sparking some mystery.

“After the game Trace (Columbus manager Andy Tracy) called me into his office and told me they were going in a different direction,” Manzardo said. “He kinda deked me a little bit, then let me know I was going up.”

Manzardo, 23, said his first call was to his parents, Paul and Windy, and “told them they should be looking at flights. 

“They should be landing any second now,” he said Monday afternoon.

Manzardo was called up Monday to replace outfielder Steven Kwan, the American League’s leading hitter, who is expected to miss four weeks with an acute left hamstring strain. 

“Obviously this has been my dream for as long as I remember, so it feels pretty surreal right now to get the opportunity to do it,” Manzardo told The Press on Sunday. “It means the world to me.”

Manzardo, a 2018 Lake City High grad, played three seasons at Washington State.

He was drafted in the second round (63rd overall) by Tampa Bay, then traded to Cleveland last summer, while he was recovering from a shoulder injury.

“It kind of caught me by surprise, but I wasn’t too, too shocked by it. … it was a smooth transition,” Manzardo said of being traded. “The Rays had a lot of depth at that position, and me being hurt, and them needing pitching real bad, I figured I would be packaged in some deal.”

The lefty hitting Manzardo went to Cleveland’s spring training complex in Arizona to finish his rehab, then was assigned to Columbus to finish the season.

He spent this spring at the Guardians’ major league camp. In 24 plate appearances (21 at-bats) in spring training, he had eight hits, including two doubles, drove in two runs and scored twice.

Near the end of spring training, Cleveland assigned him to its minor league camp.

He opened the season at Columbus, hitting .303 with 9 homers and 20 RBIs in 109 at bats. More recently, he hit eight homers and drove in 14 runs in the Clippers’ last 14 games. 

“I was playing well, so I wasn’t too stressed about any of the possibilities,” Manzardo said. “I just wanted to keep playing well.”

The righty throwing Manzardo said he was told by the Guardians he would be playing mostly at DH, and playing some at first base.

Brian Green, his coach at WSU who is now head coach at Wichita State, described Manzardo as a throwback.

“I take that as a term of endearment,” Manzardo said. “Growing up I wanted to be as complete a hitter as possible; that’s what I still strive for. Be a hitter first and let the power numbers fall wherever they may.”

While at spring training, Manzardo said he tried to follow around some of the veteran Guardian players, such as Josh Naylor and Jose Ramirez, and observe how they prepared, and tried to put that to use in Columbus.

“I’ve really been honing in this season on hitting the left-handed pitchers I was facing in Triple-A well. And I have been hitting them a lot better this year than last,” Manzardo said. “And just continuing to get better defensively.”

Describing himself as a hitter to the Cleveland media, “I try to take a balanced approach,” Manzardo said. “Take my walks and my singles when necessary, but I’m also looking to really impact the baseball, and drive it.”

Cleveland has already made its lone trip to Seattle this season, in early April.

    SUE OGROCKI/Associated Press Kyle Manzardo of the Cleveland Guardians, the former Lake City High and Washington State standout, takes his first major league at-bat in the second inning against the Detroit Tigers on Monday in Cleveland. Tigers catcher Carson Kelly is at right.
  

    Kyle Manzardo