


Thomas Samuel Manzella, Jr. (born April 16, 1983) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros.
Early career
High school
Manzella was born in Chalmette, Louisiana and attended Archbishop Hannan High School, and was a three-year starting shortstop. He earned All-District 8-4A, All-St. Bernard Parish and academic all-state honors each year. He hit .360 with 3 home runs and 24 RBIs during his senior season. He was selected to play in the LHSAA All-Star Game, and earned St. Bernard Parish Most Outstanding Player recognition as a senior.
NCAA
Manzella attended Tulane University and played for the Tulane Green Wave baseball team. He played in 55 games as a true freshman, mostly at shortstop, and led the team with 135 assists while finishing fifth on the team with a batting average .294. He earned All-Tournament honors at the 2002 Conference USA Tournament after hitting .615 (8-for-13) with a double and five RBIs during the tournament. In 2003, he started all 59 games at second base and received honorable-mention All-Louisiana honors after tying for the team lead in doubles (20) while ranking tied for second in RBIs (44). Manzella was again named to the C-USA All-Tournament Team after hitting .615 (8-for-13) with an RBI, a walk, and a stolen base.
In 2004, he was the only player on the team to start at the same position in all 62 games, and earned second-team All-Louisiana honors after leading the team in assists (185) and sacrifice bunts (school-record 12) while ranking second in steals (11). He was named to NCAA Oxford Regional All-Tournament Team after hitting .417 (5-for-12) with three RBIs and two sacrifice bunts, and posted nine putouts and nine assists while helping turn three double plays defensively. In 2005, he started all 65 games at shortstop and earned first-team All-Conference USA honors after leading the team in batting average (.356), hits (98), stolen bases (21) and assists (171), while tying for first in doubles (24), ranking second in RBIs (62), third in total bases (150), fourth in slugging percentage (.545) and runs scored (58), and fifth in home runs (eight). He led C-USA in hits and stolen bases. In the NCAA New Orleans Super Regional, Manzella started all three games at shortstop, hitting .400 (6-for-15) with two doubles and two RBIs and posted a .417 on-base percentage with a walk. He had two hits in all three games, and posted seven putouts, five assists, and one error defensively.
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Trophies ![]()
Milestones
Former Youth Teams ![]()






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