Peace at the plate: As his mom recovers from recent heart transplant, Kyle Manzardo finds his swing

ARLINGTON, Texas – Kyle Manzardo seems to have found his groove.

The Cleveland Guardians’ first baseman, a graduate of Lake City High School and former Washington State star, has been sizzling since the All-Star break.

He says it’s just a matter of feeling more comfortable at the plate in his second MLB season.

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt points to Manzardo’s growth as a more complete hitter, saying he’s no longer swinging for the fences on every pitch.

But even more impactful to Manzardo’s rise in recent weeks likely has nothing to do with baseball.

On July 8, Manzardo’s mother, Windy, underwent a heart transplant at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center. Windy first suffered heart complications in 2021 – eventually diagnosed as cardiac sarcoidosis, a condition in which clumps of cells form in the heart – and a year later, was put on a transplant list.

Kyle Manzardo told MLB.com that he first learned that a donor had been found for his mother on July 6 – just moments after his team arrived in Houston for a three-game series – and he was able to scramble back to Spokane in time for the procedure. He rejoined the Guardians on July 11, according to MLB.com.

“Yeah, she’s doing great,” Kyle said last week. “She’s all good, still recovering.”

For Kyle Manzardo, his mother’s big news has coincided with his hot bat. After hitting just .217 to start the season, he’s been batting .265 over his last 40 games, with 11 home runs and with 28 RBIs.

“Oh yeah, for sure (it’s a big load off my mind),” he said of his mother’s recovery. “It definitely helps. Couldn’t be happier with how all that went.”

Now that he’s more at ease, it’s showing up in the boxscore.

On Friday and Saturday, Manzardo hit home runs in back-to-back wins at home against the Mariners before Seattle won the series finale on Sunday. His on-base percentage over the past 40 games is .357.

He added another homer in Cleveland’s loss to the Boston Red Sox on Monday.

“I just think he’s turning into a complete hitter,” Vogt said. “Early in the year, he was really selling out to the damage, to the homers. He wasn’t taking as many walks or anything.

“This year, since early July, he’s been taking good at-bats,” he said. “He’s been taking his walks. He’ll take a single the other way and if you make a mistake, he still has the power to do it. He’s really developing into a complete hitter.”

As a rookie a season ago, Manzardo admits he was probably too caught up in the big-league moment. After making his debut on May 6, 2024, he batted .234 in 53 games.

Manzardo credits Vogt, a first-year MLB manager last season, for helping him adjust.

“I think he’s been really good for me, navigating the ebbs and flows of a full baseball season at this level,” he said. “Just trying to stay levelheaded, try not to ride that roller coaster as much.”

It’s the kind of approach he used at Washington State, where in 2021 he became the first Cougar to be named first-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball since pitcher Aaron Sele in 1990 – and the first Cougar position player to earn first-team honors since John Olerud in 1988.

“I think (learning to weather the highs and lows of a season) is a lesson that anybody that’s played baseball for a long time has learned,” Manzardo said. “I think everybody probably learns it at a different point in their life. For me, it was a little bit in college, little bit more in the minors and a little bit more here.”

And with so much of the off-the-field stress behind him, Manzardo says he’s focused on trying to get his Guardians back to the postseason, where the team lost in five games to the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series in 2024.

“It’s been a blessing (to play in Cleveland), a real blessing,” he said. “Couldn’t be more grateful to be where I’m at. Wouldn’t change anything.”

Stephen Hunt is a freelance writer based in Frisco, Texas.