If you've spent any considerable time on a Southern Nevada prep and college baseball diamond, chances are, you've met longtime local scout Manny Guerra. Perhaps the only man in Vegas with an open invitation into any dugout in town, Guerra is responsible for more than a few Major League careers. After 43-plus years as a scout, Guerra succumbed to his battle with cancer and passed away Wednesday.
The amiable scout leaves behind a legacy of past and present professional baseball players as well as a baseball community in mourning. From Hall of Famer Greg Maddux to recently traded outfielder Tommy Pham, Guerra's had his hand in helping discover countless local ballplayers during their younger days on the diamond. While his impact was felt by almost every pro player who came out of Southern Nevada, his impact was felt by countless more ballplayers.
"The name Manny Guerra is absolutely synonymous with Southern Nevada baseball and in professional baseball circles as well as with any college program," said Silverado High School coach Brian Whitaker, the winningest active coach in Nevada high school baseball. "He truly cared about the kids. Manny was a tremendous teacher. He taught me many lessons throughout my playing and coaching careers, including earlier this summer. His mind was full of knowledge and as sharp as ever.
"His zest for baseball and life might be able to be matched, but it will never be surpassed. It has been my good fortune to have known Manny Guerra."
Guerra got his start working under legendary local St. Louis Cardinals scout Ralph Meder. The two were both integral in discovering Maddux. In fact, Guerra used to coach Rancho High School's American Legion team during the summers. One of his legendary Rancho squads had nine players drafted with four going on to play Major League Baseball, including current Cardinals pitching coach Mike Maddux, Marty Barrett, Mike Morgan and Tommy Barrett. “Manny was there for anyone who wanted to pick up a baseball or swing a bat,” Mike Maddux told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “A good man, a good baseball guy, a better person. He was there for all the young kids that aspired to play, whether it was high school ball, college ball, pro ball, whatever the dream may hold. He was a dream builder. He was a true baseball junkie. We’re going to miss him.” Guerra took up the torch for the Cardinals when Meder passed away in 1983. Since then, Guerra has been as synonymous with Las Vegas Baseball as Maddux, Kris Bryant or Bryce Harper. In fact, he supersedes them all. He even started a Cardinals "Scout Team" comprised of Southern Nevada's top ballplayers, free of charge, to showcase them to colleges and even other pro scouts. When Tony LaRussa left the Cardinals organization and it began making changes, Guerra was one of the casualties of the changeover. He was hired by the Phillies for his final few years but he'll always be known as a Cardinals scout. It wasn't about drafting players for Guerra. It was about giving impressionable young men their best shot at chasing their dreams and passion. The news of Guerra's passing hit social media fast. Names like Seattle Mariners reliever Chase Bradford, as well as minor leaguers like the Washington Nationals' Bryan Harper and Baltimore Orioles infielder Cadyn Grenier, posted tributes. Even more took the time to thank the well-liked former Air Force Staff Sergeant, who worked 34 years as a civil service aircraft mechanic. https://twitter.com/CBbaseball46/status/1024735504980295681 https://twitter.com/BryanHarper45/status/1024752651156840453 https://twitter.com/Kdyn2Cadyn/status/1024716756466786305 https://twitter.com/utahscout1219/status/1024820426260721664 https://twitter.com/_Quintana13/status/1024806549066276865 Prior to Wednesday night's America Legion State Championship game at UNLV's Earl E. Wilson Stadium, there was a moment of silence in honor of Guerra. https://twitter.com/WillieGRamirez/status/1024824017436327937 As a high school baseball coach myself, it's hard to put into word what Manny meant to the community. The kids knew him, loved him, and every one of them hoped to get the call to play for his scout team. The man was a gentleman, was always respectful when he'd enter the dugout and you knew it'd be a meaningful discussion about the game we love so much, as well as the young men we work with every day. He always saw the positive in young players, even when the frustration of dealing with the modern age of club-ball-for-profit and helicopter parenting spilt over into your own program plans. I don't ever recall him ever actually asking for a roster.It's almost as if he knew who your best players were around the same time you and your coaching staff did.Of course, the conversations were so pleasant you probably just wouldn't recall giving him a roster because you were simply lost in a worthwhile discussion so intently. More importantly, it wasn't about his own success or ego. It was always about the kids for Guerra. If they weren't pro prospects, he'd still find them a college to play for. If they weren't college prospects, he was always forthcoming and honest with them. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone to say something negative about Manny, and — if they did — chances are, it's because they aren't a part of the Southern Nevada Baseball Community.
Everybody loved Manny.
"Every year he stopped by and got a roster from me," Whitaker said. "We would talk about the kids, he was certainly aware of some of them. He would follow them, call occasionally and discuss their progress. He always asked about potential seniors looking for places to play. He was definitely not just about draft prospects and was willing to help anyone. He really had a finger on the pulse of good fits for every range of player as well as the contacts to make it a reality."
In a day and age where flash drowns out the simple and humble aspects of America's favorite past time, Guerra was a throwback to a time when all one needed to hear was the sound of the ball leaving the bat to know if as kid could hit, was a player, or a pretender. As modern sabermetrics has taken hold and launch angles and exit velocity dominate the scouting process, Guerra knew a good ballplayer simply when he saw one. His passing will leave a chasm behind in his absence and he will truly be missed.
