Kirt Dean Manwaring is a former 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...

 catcher

Catcher

Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...

. He played thirteen seasons in the major leagues, from 1987 until 1999.

Selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 12th round of the 1983 free-agent draft; did not sign. Selected by the San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....

 in the second round of the 1986 draft

1986 Major League Baseball Draft

The 1986 Major League Baseball Draft was the 22nd MLB draft that took place in 1986. During this draft, five all-stars were drafted in five different teams.-First round selections:...

 out of Coastal Carolina University

Coastal Carolina University

Coastal Carolina University is an independent, state-supported, liberal arts university in Conway, South Carolina, USA, located eight miles west of Myrtle Beach. Founded in 1954, Coastal became an independent university in 1993. The University enrolls approximately 8,300 students on its campus...

 at the age of 21. A little over a year later, he made his major league debut with the Giants, then spent the next several years splitting time between the major and minor leagues

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

.

Kirt earned a Gold Glove in 1993. He finished the season with the National League's second-highest percentage of throwing out base stealers (45 percent). The Giants then traded him to the Houston Astros for Rick Wilkins and cash, in July 1996. At the end of the season, he signed with the Colorado Rockies. He finished his last season in 1999. He is currently a catching instructor for the Giants.

Awards

A good defensive catcher, he recorded a .998 fielding percentage and won a Gold Glove award with the San Francisco Giants in 1993. He won the 1993 Willie Mac Award

Willie Mac Award

The Willie Mac Award is named in honor of Willie McCovey. It has been presented annually since 1980. It is awarded to the player on the San Francisco Giants who best exemplifies the spirit and leadership consistently shown by McCovey throughout his long career, voted upon by the players and...

honoring his spirit and leadership. In 1993, he was tied for 4th in intentional walks, with 13.

Manwaring was inducted into Coastal Carolina University Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.