Manuel began riding horses at a young age… he was given the opportunity to do so as his late father worked on a farm…he still finds time to ride his own horse named Pencoté…last September, he and Francisco Mejía were the subjects of a Rays All-Access episode and spent the morning at a horse farm with Tricia Whitaker...Manuel made one of the top grabs of the 2020 postseason, crashing over the right field railing at Petco Park during Game 2 of the ALCS to retire George Springer…soon after, the catch was commemorated with an officially-licensed T-shirt...He twice made headlines late in his rookie season for his large pieces of bubble gum…in an August game against the Phillies, his gum fell out of his mouth and caused a brief delay when the batter and pitcher noticed it on the center field grass…just over a month later, he managed to keep his gum in his mouth but casually blew a bubble while tracking down a fly ball...Manuel and his wife, Rachell, married on Christmas Eve 2016…they have three children, Sharlotte, Diamond and Matthew.
2022
Appeared in 89 games and made 85 starts (49-RF, 16-DH, 13-CF, 7-LF)…was on the injured list from May 15-24 (right hamstring strain) and June 21–Aug. 20 (right patellar tendon strain)… was carted off on June 20 vs. NYY after attempting to make a leaping catch at the right field wall...Hit .302/.365/.423 (55-for-182) with 11 2B, three HR and 27 RBI in 51 games (48 starts) before his knee injury and .240/.276/.318 (37-for-154) with seven 2B, one HR and 20 RBI in 38 games (37 starts) after…hit .209 (23-for-110) in his last 27 games (all starts)...Hit .347 (26-for-75) with three HR and 24 RBI in the eighth inning (or later)…despite the missed time, his six go-ahead hits in the eighth inning (or later) tied NYY Aaron Judge and HOU Kyle Tucker for second in the majors behind CLE Andrés Giménez (eight), earning a “Manny Mar-go-ahead” nickname...Hit safely in a career-high 15 consecutive games from May 1-28, batting .451 (23-for-51) with four 2B, one 3B, three HR and 16 RBI…missed eight games with a right hamstring strain during the hitting streak...Named the Rays recipient of the Heart and Hustle Award by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association…the Heart and Hustle Award honors players who demonstrate a passion for the game of baseball and best embody the values, spirit and traditions of the game…it is the only award in Major League Baseball that is voted on by former players...On April 5, signed a two-year extension through 2024 with a mutual option for 2025...Made his sixth straight Opening Day roster and fifth career Opening Day start (2017-20, 2022)...On April 12 vs. OAK, hit a walk-off single off Lou Trivino in the 10th inning…was the second walk-off hit of his career, joining May 26, 2021 vs. KC...Named AL Player of the Week for May 2-8 after batting .500/.539/1.042 (12-for-24) with two 2B, one 3B, three HR and 12 RBI in seven games (six starts)…from May 6-8 at SEA, homered in three consecutive games for the first time in his career…marked his second career weekly honor, following July 24-30, 2017 (with SD), and the first for a Ray since Brandon Lowe from Aug. 10-16, 2020...On May 4 at OAK, hit a go-ahead, two-run single to break a scoreless tie in the eighth inning...Hit a go-ahead homer in the ninth inning on May 6, his first career grand slam on May 7 and a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning on May 8...On May 6 at SEA, entered in the seventh inning and hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the ninth…marked the first time in his career he hit a go-ahead homer in the ninth inning (or later)...On Aug. 31 at MIA, hit a go-ahead, RBI single with two outs in the 10th inning…marked his fourth career go-ahead hit in the 10th inning (or later) and second on the road, joining an 11th-inning single on June 23, 2019 at PIT (with SD)...On Oct. 3 at BOS, hit a two-run shot off Rich Hill in the fourth inning, snapping a career-long homerless drought at 245 AB…was his first since homering in three straight games from May 6-8 at SEA... POSTSEASON: Started both games of the AL Wild Card Series at CLE in right field and went 1-for-8 with a Game 2 single in the 15th inning.
2021
Recorded a career-high 57 RBI in his sixth major league season, fifth full, and second with the Rays…appeared in 125 games and made starts at all three outfield positions (70-RF, 22-CF, 12-LF)... His 13 Defensive Runs Saved tied Kevin Kiermaier for the team lead and tied for eighth among major league outfielders…led major league outfielders with 16 Outs Above Average, according to Statcast... Hit .284 (56-for-197) at Tropicana Field, .273 (51- for-187) vs. LHP and .305 (43-for-141) with two outs... Made his fifth consecutive Opening Day roster but did not start…started in left field in his Rays debut in 2020 and started for the Padres in center field in 2019, 2018 and 2017... On May 26 vs. KC, hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning…marked the first walk-off hit of his career and second walk-off RBI, joining a bases-loaded walk Sep 10, 2019, vs. CHC (with SD)... On June 8 vs. WSH, his solo homer to left-center field off Jon Lester was the seventh leadoff homer of his career and first with the Rays... On June 24 vs. BOS, became the first player in franchise history to score the only run of a 1-0 game on a walk-off wild pitch…according to Stats LLC, it was the fourth time in the expansion era (since 1961) that a 1-0 game ended on a walkoff wild pitch... On July 5 vs. CLE, recorded a season-high 4 hits…had an infield single leading off the 9th inning to spark a go-ahead rally…was replaced by a pinch-runner due to injury and went on the 10-day IL the next day…reinstated on July 27... POSTSEASON: Hit .143 (1-for-7) in three games (two starts) in the ALDS against the Red Sox.
2020
Acquired from the Padres early in spring training…appeared in 47 games and made 37 starts (18-CF, 10-RF, 9-LF)…after a slow start, hit .321/.374/.411 (36-for-112) in 36 games (28 starts) from Aug 10 through season’s end...Was on the bereavement list from Aug 4-6 following the death of his father, Enmanuel… placed on the COVID-19 Related IL on Aug 7 for intake screening and reinstated on Aug 9...Tied for 2nd in the AL with 12 SB behind KC Adalberto Mondesi (24)…had 10 SB in 14 games from Aug 25–Sep 15, tied for most in the majors...Was the only Ray with a bunt hit and had five of them, tied for 4th in the majors...Hit .294 (25-for-85) in 27 games on the road and .233 (14-for-60) in 20 games at home...Hit .556 (15-for-27) in 7 games (6 starts) against the Red Sox, with multiple hits in his first 5 starts…was the third player in club history with multiple hits in five straight starts against them, joining Aubrey Huff (6) from Aug 3-12, 2004 and Carl Crawford (5) from May 2-10, 2009. Made his fourth consecutive Opening Day roster…started on Opening Day in left field, after his first three came in center field (with SD)...On Aug 10 at BOS, his 4 hits passed his total from his first 11 games (9 starts) combined (3)… became the first visiting player with 4 hits (or more) in his Fenway Park debut since BAL Jonathan Schoop in 2014...Added a second 4-hit game in the series finale on Aug 13 at BOS…totaled 10 hits in the 4-game series at Fenway Park, tied for the 2nd-most by a Ray in a single series behind Carl Crawford (11) from Aug 6-9, 2007 at DET...On Aug 25 vs. BAL, his 2nd-inning homer was his first since Sep 11, 2019, vs. CHC (with SD), going 107 AB in between…was the second of back-to-back homers with Hunter Renfroe.
POSTSEASON: Hit .276/.344/.552 (16-for-58) with 5 HR and 11 RBI in 19 games (18 starts)… since RBI became an official stat (1920), he and NYY Giancarlo Stanton in 2020 are the only players with at least 10 RBI in the regular season to match or exceed their total in the postseason...In Game 1 of the Wild Card Series vs. TOR, hit a 2-run homer off A.J. Cole in the 7th inning and joined Evan Longoria in Game 1 of the 2008 ALDS vs. CWS as the only Rays to homer in their first career postseason game…became the third Rays hitter all-time with multiple hits in his first career postseason game, joining Longoria and Akinori Iwamura in 2008...In Game 2 of the ALCS vs. HOU, hit a 3-run homer in the 1st inning…crashed over the right field railing to make an inning-ending catch in the 2nd on a foul ball by George Springer...In Game 6 of the ALCS vs. HOU, became the first player in major league history to have a multi-HR game in the postseason after hitting 1 HR (or fewer) during the regular season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau…it was the sixth multi-HR game in Rays postseason history...In the 4th inning of Game 5 vs. LAD, attempted the 14th straight steal of home in World Series history…was the first attempt since STL Lonnie Smith was caught in Game 6 of the 1982 World Series vs. MIL and only the fifth attempt since 1922…he came within inches of completing the first successful straight steal of home in a World Series game since BRO Jackie Robinson in Game 1 of the 1955 World Series at NYY.
2019
Appeared in 151 games and made 98 starts, all in center field, in his third full season at the major league level…established career highs in games, runs (59), walks (38) and stolen bases (20) while his 12 HR were one shy of tying a career high...Ranked 2nd among NL center fielders with a .992 fielding pct., trailing MIL Lorenzo Cain (.994)…ranked 7th among major league outfielders in StatCast's "Outs Above Average" metric (11) and 4th in its metric measuring best outfielder "jumps" at +1.6 feet above average...His 20 SB ranked 9th in the NL…was successful on 20 of 24 attempts, 6th-best rate in the NL...Hit .330/.420/.466 (34-for-103) against lefties, 7th in the NL in avg. and 6th in on-base pct. (min. 100 AB)…in comparison, hit only .200/.260/ .359 (59-for-295) against right-handed pitchers...Was on the paternity list from April 19-20 for the birth of his second son, Matthew...On Aug 3 at LAD, hit the first pinch-hit homer of his career in the 8th inning off Walker Buehler...Played for the Toros del Este in the Dominican Winter League for a sixth consecutive year.
2018
Margot (pronounced: mahr-GO) led all SD outfielders in games played (141), starts (123), innings played (1111.0), fielding percentage (.990), total chances (291) and putouts (286)...Missed nine games on the 10-day DL with bruised ribs from 4/11-20...Collected multi-hit efforts in a career-high-tying four consecutive games from 6/20-23 for the second time in his career...Collected a career-high five hits on 7/8 at ARI, surpassing his previous career high of three hits (14 times)…it matched Freddy Galvis' five hits on 6/15 at ATL for the club's single-game high in 2018…prior to Margot's and Galvis' five-hit games, the last Padre to do so was Jon Jay on 6/2/16 vs. SEA...Hit safely in a career-high 10 consecutive games from 7/13-29, slashing .378/.425/.595 with 10 runs scored over the stretch... Slashed .301/.349/.444 in 44 day games and .219/.264/.355 in 97 night games...Slashed .271/.312/.390 in 73 away games and .217/.269/.376 in 68 home games...Hit .304 (56-for-184) with runners on base, .313 (30-for-96) with RISP and .282 (11-for-39) with RISP/2 out...In Padres wins, he hit .324 (59-for-182), while hitting .197 (58- for-295) in losses.
2017
Margot (pronounced: mahr-GO) made his first career Opening Day roster and led the club and all NL rookies in multihit games (39), singles (90) and triples (seven)…also led all NL rookies in stolen bases (17) and ranked third in at-bats (487), fifth in total bases (199) and sixth in runs (53), extra-base hits (38) and games played (126)... His seven triples tied for fifth-most in a single season by a Padres rookie and the most since Everth Cabrera hit eight in 2009... His 39 multi-hit efforts tied for the fifth-most by a Padres rookie and his 90 singles tied for the 11th most by a Padres rookie, the highest rookie marks since Yonder Alonso collected 42 multi-hit games and 102 singles in 2012... Hit his first two ML home runs in his first two at-bats in the Padres' home opener on 4/8 vs. SF…he became the third player in Padres history to hit his first two ML long balls in consecutive at-bats within the same game, joining Mark Parent (1988) and Yasmani Grandal (2012), per ELIAS….Margot became the fourth youngest player to have a multi-home run game for SD and the only Padres rookie to hit multiple home runs in a home opener…only one other Padre hit multiple home runs in a home opener (Carmelo Martinez, two home runs on 4/15/85 vs. SF)... Homered to lead off the game on 4/11 at COL, his second leadoff homer of the season…per ELIAS, no Padres player had ever had two-or-more leadoff homers within the team's first nine games of a season…the last rookie to hit two-or-more leadoff home runs in the team's first nine games was Lou Brock of the Chicago Cubs in 1962... Hit his third leadoff homer of the season on the first pitch on 5/13 at CWS, a night after teammate Matt Szczur hit a leadoff long ball of his own on the first pitch…it marked just the second time the Padres have ever hit a leadoff home run in two straight games…in 2005, Damian Jackson led off both games on 6/26 and 6/27 with a home run… the last MLB team to hit a first-pitch leadoff home run in two straight games was CHC in 2007 on 9/19 and 9/21 (Alfonso Soriano both games)... Placed on the 10-day DL on 5/27 (retro 5/25) and missed 28 games with a strained right calf...sent on a five-game rehab assignment with El Paso (AAA) before being reinstated on 6/27... Reinstated from the paternity leave list on 7/23 after the birth of his baby boy, Diamond Manuel Margot…recorded multi-hit efforts in each of his next four games, twice threatening to hit for the cycle... Hit his fourth leadoff home run on 7/27 vs. NYM, which finished the season ranked tied for ninth-most in the majors and tied for third-most in the NL…the four leadoff long balls were the second-most in a season in team history, behind only the five Will Venable hit in 2011... Earned NL Player of the Week honors for the week of 7/30 after going 12-for-24 (.500) with two doubles, a triple, three home runs, six runs scored and a steal…was the first Padre to earn the honor since Hunter Renfore closed the 2016 season with the award... Scored a career-high-tying three runs on 8/22 at STL (also, 6/28 at ATL) in the Padres' 12-4 victory... Collected a career-high four RBI on 9/8 at ARI in the club's 10-6 victory... Against left-handed pitching he hit .285 (35-for-123) with three home runs but 10 of his 13 home runs came off righties, hitting .255 (93-for-364)... With the bases loaded he was 4-for-5 (.800) with a double and nine RBI... Hit .261 (29-for-111) in April and .257 (19-for-74) in May before being placed on the 10-day DL with a strained right calf on 5/27 (retro 5/25), missing 28 games…reinstated on 6/27 and hit a combined .320 (33-for-103) for the remainder of June and through July…hit .231 (25-for-108) in August and .242 (22-for-91) in September... Following the season, played in seven games for Toros del Este of the Dominican Winter League and hit .467 (14- for-30) with two doubles, four RBI and four runs scored
2016
Margot (pronounced: MAHR-goh) spent the majority of the season with Triple-A El Paso and was named MVP of the Pacific Coast League playoffs during the Chihuahua's championship title run before making his Major League debut for San Diego...Recalled from Triple-Al El Paso on 9/21 vs. ARI and made his Major League debut as a pinch runner in the bottom of the eighth inning that same night...made his first Major League start the next day on 9/22 vs. SF and made eight starts total, with seven in center field and one in right field...Recorded his first Major League hit on 9/24 vs. SF with an RBI single in the seventh inning...Recorded his first multi-hit game with a career-high three hits as well as his first Major League stolen base on 9/25 vs. SF...Hit .304 (157-for-517) in 124 games for El Paso this season and led all Triple-A players in triples (12) and ranked tied for first with teammate Carlos Asuaje in runs scored (98) while hitting 21 doubles, six home runs and 55 RBI to go along with 30 stolen bases...Named MVP of the PCL playoffs...overall in the postseason for El Paso he hit .350 (14-for-40) with three doubles, three triples, a home run, two steals, eight runs scored with four RBI...Named to the PCL post-season All-Star team...Started in center field for World Team the second consecutive year in Major League Baseball's 2016 All-Star Futures Game at Petco Park, batting leadoff and going 1-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
