Manuel Lora Lee (born June 17, 1965) is a former shortstop and second baseman for

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

(1985–92), Texas Rangers (1993–94) and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

(1995). He was originally signed as an amateur free agent with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

in 1982. He helped the Blue Jays win the AL Eastern Division during his rookie season in 1985, and also in 1989 and 1991. In what would be his final season with the Blue Jays, he helped them to become the first Canadian team to win the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

in 1992. He also helped the Rangers take the lead in the American League Western Division before the 1994 strike truncated the season. In 11 seasons, he played in 922 games, had 2,693 at-bats, 304 runs, 686 hits, 88 doubles, 20 triples, 19 home runs, 249 RBI, 31 stolen bases, 201 walks, .255 batting average, .305 on-base percentage, .323 slugging percentage, 871 total bases, 43 sacrifice hits, 19 sacrifice flies and five intentional walks.

Career

New York Mets

The

signed Lee as an amateur free agent on May 9, 1982, when he was 16 years old. Lee reported to the

Kingsport Mets The Kingsport Mets were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League from 1921 to 2020. They were located in Kingsport, Tennessee, and were last named for the team's major league affiliate, the New York Mets. The team played its home ga ...

of the Appalachian League for the 1982 season, and in 54 at-bats, Lee hit .222 with no home runs and 3 RBI. He split the 1983 season between Mets

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the l ...

team and the

Little Falls Mets The Little Falls Mets were a minor league baseball team located in Little Falls, New York. The team played in the New York–Penn League, and were affiliated with the New York Mets. Their home stadium was Little Falls Veterans Memorial Park. ...

of the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

, where he hit a .261 in 49 games between the two clubs. Lee played the 1984 season with the

Columbia Mets Located in Columbia, South Carolina, the Columbia Mets were affiliated with the New York Mets from 1983 to 1992. A member of the South Atlantic League, they became the Capital City Bombers in 1993. They played in Capital City Stadium. Year by yea ...

of the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

, where he hit an impressive .329 in 102 games. On August 31, 1984, the Mets sent Lee, Gerald Young and

Mitch Cook Mitchell Christopher Cook (born 15 October 1961) is an English retired professional footballer. He played for seven different Football League clubs during a twenty-year career, and had four separate spells at Scarborough, his hometown club. He ...

to the Houston Astros for

Ray Knight Charles Ray Knight (born December 28, 1952) is an American former Major League Baseball infielder best remembered for his time with the Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets. Originally drafted by the Reds in the tenth round of the 1970 Major League ...

Houston Astros

Lee did not play for Houston or any of their minor league affiliates as he was selected by the

in the Rule 5 draft on December 3, 1984.

Toronto Blue Jays

Lee spent the entire 1985 season with the Blue Jays, mostly appearing as a defensive replacement late in the game. He made his major league debut on April 10, 1985 as a pinch runner in a game against the Kansas City Royals, in which Toronto won 1–0. He had his first official at-bat on April 24 against Kansas City, striking out against Mike Jones. Lee recorded his first major league hit in his eighth at-bat, singling against

Rick Behenna Richard Kipp Behenna (March 6, 1960 – January 31, 2012) was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves in 1983 and the Cleveland Indians from 1983 to 1985. He was part of what was perhaps one of the worst trades ever made by the Brav ...

of the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

on June 2 at

Exhibition Stadium Canadian National Exhibition Stadium (commonly known as Exhibition Stadium or CNE Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium that formerly stood on the Exhibition Place grounds, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally built for Canadian National E ...

. Lee finished the season with a .200 batting average with no home runs or RBI in 40 at-bats. With the Blue Jays winning the

American League East The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...

, they advanced to the

1985 ALCS The 1985 American League Championship Series was played between the Kansas City Royals and the Toronto Blue Jays from October 8 to 16. Major League Baseball decided to extend the Championship Series in both leagues from its best-of-five (1969–1 ...

, in which Lee went hitless in one at-bat, as Toronto lost to the Kansas City Royals in seven games. Lee spent most of the 1986 season in the minor leagues, splitting time between the

Knoxville Blue Jays The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off In ...

and

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

, with whom he hit a combined .256 with one home run. While with Toronto, Lee hit his first major league home run, a solo shot off of

Mike Smithson Mike Smithson may refer to: * Mike Smithson (British journalist) (born 1946), British journalist, Liberal Democrat politician, and political betting expert *Mike Smithson (Australian journalist), Australian news reporter *Mike Smithson (baseball) ...

of the Minnesota Twins on August 29, 1986. Lee appeared in 35 games with Toronto, hitting .205 with one home run and 7 RBI. In 1987 he once again split the season between the majors and minors, appearing in 76 games with Syracuse, batting .283 in 251 at-bats, while batting .256 with one home run and 11 RBI with Toronto in 121 at-bats. Lee became the Blue Jays starting second baseman in 1988, playing in 116 games, while batting .291 with two home runs and 38 RBI. In 1989, Lee split time with Nelson Liriano at second base, and occasionally filled in for shortstop

Tony Fernández Octavio Antonio Fernández Castro (June 30, 1962 – February 16, 2020), better known as Tony Fernández, was a Dominican baseball player who played as a shortstop in Major League Baseball (MLB) for seven teams from 1983 to 2001, most notably ...

. Lee hit .260 with three home runs and 34 RBI while appearing in 99 games, helping Toronto win the division and advance to the playoffs. In the

1989 ALCS The 1989 American League Championship Series was played between the Oakland Athletics and the Toronto Blue Jays from October 3 to 8. A dominant Oakland team took the Series four games to one, en route to a sweep of their cross-bay rivals, the S ...

, Lee appeared in two games, batting .250 while scoring two runs as the Blue Jays lost to the Oakland Athletics in five games. In 1990, Lee received the majority of playing time at second base, batting .243 with six home runs and 41 RBI, both career highs. In the off-season, the Blue Jays shifted Lee to become the starting shortstop, as they acquired second baseman

Roberto Alomar Roberto "Robbie" Alomar Velázquez (; ; born February 5, 1968) is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball player for the San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, and Arizon ...

in a deal with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

, trade which saw the departure of Fernandez. In 1991, Lee appeared in a career high 138 games, hitting .234 with no homers and 29 RBI. In the

1991 ALCS The 1991 American League Championship Series was played between the Minnesota Twins and the Toronto Blue Jays from October 8 to 13. The Twins defeated the favored Blue Jays, winning the Series four games to one. Minnesota would go on to face (and ...

, Lee batted .125 in the Blue Jays five game loss to the Minnesota Twins. Lee returned as the Blue Jays starting shortstop in 1992, He batted .263 with three home runs and 39 RBI. Toronto once again won their division, and faced the Oakland Athletics in the

1992 ALCS The 1992 American League Championship Series was played between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Oakland Athletics from October 7 to 14, 1992. The Blue Jays won the series four games to two to advance to their first World Series, and became the firs ...

. In six games, Lee hit .278 with three RBI, as Toronto defeated Oakland to advance to the

1992 World Series The 1992 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1992 season. The 89th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Toronto Blue Jays and the Na ...

against the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

. In the World Series, Lee batted .105 while the Blue Jays defeated the Braves in six games to win the championship. On November 4, 1992, Lee was granted free agency.

Texas Rangers

On December 19, 1992, the Texas Rangers signed Lee as a free agent to become the team's starting shortstop. After missing the Rangers first eight games, Lee made his Texas debut on April 16, 1993, getting a hit and a run in a 5–3 loss to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

. Lee battled injuries during the season, appearing in only 73 games, batting .220 with one home run and 12 RBI. He rebounded in the 1994 season, as Lee hit .278 with two home runs and 38 RBI in 95 games with Texas before the season ended early due to the

1994 Baseball Strike File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

. At the time of the strike, the Rangers were leading the

American League West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams curr ...

. On October 28, 1994, Lee became a free agent.

St. Louis Cardinals

The

signed Lee on April 18, 1995. He made his Cardinals debut on April 26, 1995 against the Philadelphia Phillies at

Busch Stadium Busch Stadium (also referred to informally as "New Busch Stadium" or "Busch Stadium III") is a baseball stadium located in St. Louis, Missouri. The stadium serves as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, the city's Major League Baseball (M ...

. Lee earned a hit in his first, and only Cardinals at-bat, as he left the game in the fourth inning due to an injury. The Cardinals sent Lee to the minor leagues for a rehab assignment, where in 12 games, he hit .308, however, St. Louis released Lee on June 22. Lee announced his retirement shortly after.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Manuel 1965 births Living people Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball shortstops Sportspeople from San Pedro de Macorís St. Louis Cardinals players Texas Rangers players Toronto Blue Jays players Columbia Mets players Gulf Coast Mets players Kingsport Mets players Knoxville Blue Jays players Little Falls Mets players Louisville Redbirds players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Syracuse Chiefs players