Manoahs are forging family legacy
Brothers share drive to succeed, both on and off the field
Erik Manoah sensed his younger brother was heading for the big leagues even before Alek’s call to share the good news.
“He was like, ‘Hey, are we going?’ ” Alek Manoah, the Blue Jays’ newest starter, said before his major-league debut at Yankee Stadium last Thursday. “I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ He was like, ‘Did they call you?’ I guess he knew it was coming.”
Erik, 25, said he 23-year-old Alek was ready. He was right. The rookie right-hander became the first Jay to throw six scoreless innings and notch seven strikeouts in his bigleague debut, a 2-0 win over the New York Yankees.
It was an emotional day all around for family and friends who, led by Manoah matriarch Susana, made their presence known in the Bronx.
“I think everyone was hearing the Manoahs today,” Alek said after the game.
If anyone knew what Alek was capable of, it was Erik.
The brothers say they have always pushed each other to succeed.
Last May, with many workout facilities closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pair made good on an idea they had tossed around in the off-season and opened a gym of their own in Miami: Manoah Driven. The young Jay has said he didn’t missed a step in his development last year, in spite of the lost minor-league season, in part because of the work they put in at home.
The gym’s name is something of a family motto, which Alek had sewn onto the cleats he wore in his debut against the Yankees, the team he and his brother used to support. The Florida-born Blue Jay’s next start is scheduled for Wednesday in Buffalo against the other club they grew up cheering for: the Miami Marlins.
Erik is also a pitcher, drafted out of high school by the New York Mets in 2014. Whether they played with or against each other along the way, the brothers challenged each other to improve.
No one has kicked Alek in the butt more than Erik over the years, the Jays right-hander said, helping him deal with adversity and develop a thick skin.
“When you go home and your brother’s (jawing at you) and you’ve got to deal with it right there, out on the mound you don’t even hear it,” Alek said Sunday in an interview.
The competitiveness came naturally.
“We had the mentality of, ‘If I think I’m the best and he thinks he’s the best, then why would I go and compete against somebody who’s not better than him? Why not compete against each other?’ ” Erik said.
It’s a mentality they try to instil at Manoah Driven, an 1,800square-foot space that includes a turf floor and the commercial strength and training equipment a professional baseball player needs.
“That’s the brand for us: Manoah Driven,” said Erik, who is also a certified personal trainer. “We want to relay that to the clients. We want the clients to get the motto and pretty much the whole entire world. Anybody that thinks of Manoah, they’re going to think of Manoah Driven.”
Besides training at their gym daily when Alek wasn’t at the Jays’ alternate site last summer, they bought two turf mounds and started throwing bullpens and setting up live scrimmages at local parks in Florida, with other college and professional hitters in the area who were looking for work. The twice-aweek live at-bats had the brothers throwing “extremely competitively,” Alek said.
“I trained extremely hard. I’d like to believe that my training is harder than what it is (on the big-league mound), so that’s the success that comes out of everything that happens in the background.”
They hope Erik will also make the majors one day. He is currently pitching for the West Virginia Power in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an MLB partner.
“I know that he’s going to want to be out there with me,” Alek said before his Jays debut.
No matter what happens next, Erik says Manoah Driven will be central to their story.
“When it’s our turn to go in this life, the only thing that we’re really going to have left is our last name, so if we can find a way to leave our last name here forever ... that’s a beautiful thing. I think Manoah Driven is going to be our gateway to that legacy. Him making the majors — him having a potential Hall of Fame career if it gets to that — me continuing baseball aspirations and hopefully one day reaching the top as well. That would be our legacy right there.”