Manny Sarmiento
Encyclopedia
Manny Sarmiento [sar-ME-EN-toh], born Manuel Eduardo Sarmiento Aponte (February 2, 1956 in Cagua, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

), is a former relief pitcher
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...

 in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 who played for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....

 (1976–79), Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...

 (1980; 1981 on the disabled list) and Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...

 (1982–83).

Sarmiento was a four-year member of Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine". During this period he posted a 14-8 record with 138 strikeout
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....

s, six saves, and a 4.12 ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

 in 132 appearances (including five as a starting pitcher
Starting pitcher
In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....

).

In 1980 Sarmiento was injured while with Seattle, requiring season-ending surgery and more than 18 months of rehabilitation. Sarmiento was happy to be back in the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

 after an early 1981 trade which brought him to the Pirates. For part of the season, he switched from the bullpen
Bullpen
In baseball, the bullpen is the area where relief pitchers warm-up before entering a game. Depending on the ballpark, it may be situated in foul territory along the baselines or just beyond the outfield fence. Also, a team's roster of relief pitchers is metonymically referred to as "the bullpen"...

 in an emergency move, and proved effective as a starter. Down the stretch he had a 9-4, 81 strikeouts, 3.39 ERA record, returning to relief duties in the 1983 season.

In a seven-season career, Sarmiento compiled a 26-22 mark with 283 strikeouts and a 3.49 ERA in 513 innings pitched
Innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...

.

Quote

"Sarmiento was a fine fielder with a lively split-finger fastball and a singing voice good enough to once sing the National Anthem before a game. As a 20-year-old rookie in 1976, the slender Venezuelan helped the Reds to a World Championship with five relief wins". - Ed Walton, at Baseball Library.

External links

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