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Richard Eugene Manning (born September 2, 1954) is an American former center fielder and current broadcaster in Major League Baseball (MLB), who played for the Cleveland Indians (1975–1983) and Milwaukee Brewers (1983–1987), and has been a color commentator for Cleveland Guardians telecasts since 1990.
Manning had an affair with teammate Dennis Eckersley's wife, Denise; they eventually married, and then divorced. This may have led to the Indians' front office's decision to trade one of the players; there were other "official" and "unofficial" reasons given. Eckersley, a future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher, was traded with Fred Kendall on March 30, 1978, to the Boston Red Sox for Rick Wise, Mike Paxton, Bo Díaz and Ted Cox.
After playing five more seasons with the Indians, Manning was traded along with Rick Waits to the Milwaukee Brewers for Gorman Thomas, Jamie Easterly and Ernie Camacho on June 6, 1983. "Gorman Thomas dealt to Tribe," The Associated Press (AP), Tuesday, June 7, 1983. Retrieved May 29, 2016. As a member of the Brewers, he hit a 10th-inning single on August 26, 1987 as the Brewers defeated the Indians 1-0. Brewers fans actually booed Manning for driving in the winning run because Paul Molitor was on deck and looking to extend his 39-game hit streak. Manning's walk-off single deprived Molitor of one last chance to reach 40 games as he went 0-for-4 in the contest.
Manning can be seen doing Guardians games on Guardians TV (alongside Matt Underwood). He resides in Chesterland, Ohio during the season, and Scottsdale, Arizona in the offseason. He also occasionally provides color commentary on regional broadcasts for Major League Baseball on FOX, mainly when FOX shows a Guardians game.
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