Phillies' Manuel proved ’em all wrong
After World Series win, manager won't be easy to second-guess anymore
 Jim McIsaac / Getty Images Charlie Manuel managed the Phillies to their first World Series win since 1980 and just second overall. |
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PHILADELPHIA - “Charlie! Charlie! Charlie! Charlie!”
Each throaty chant bellowed by delirious Philly fans was louder than the last. The folksy Phillies manager smiled, grabbed that trophy and the fans screamed some more.
For once, Charlie Manuel was the man of the season in Philadelphia. He won’t be so easy to poke fun at anymore.
Second-guessed and critiqued from the day he was hired, Manuel made all the right moves this season as Philadelphia beat Tampa Bay 4-3 Wednesday night to win the World Series four games to one.
He shut ’em all up and proved ’em all wrong.
“When someone asks me what I want to be known as, I want to be known as a winner,” Manuel said. “That kind of tells the whole story.”
The 64-year-old Manuel and Dallas Green (1980) are now the only Phillies managers with World Series rings. Green is a special adviser to general manager Pat Gillick.
“Charlie’s done outstanding,” Gillick said. “He never has a bad day. He keeps the players in the right frame of mind that is so important these days.”
Manuel’s greatest professional triumph came with a dose of sadness. His mother died during the NL championship series, and he left a workout day to attend her funeral in Buena Vista, Va., where Manuel placed a Phillies cap in his mother’s casket.
June Manuel was her son’s thoughts as he celebrated the World Series title.
“I think she’d be hollering and laughing,” Manuel said. “And I think she’d be telling us how good a team I had and all that stuff, really. And she would be saying that she’s going to walk around in Buena Vista and talk to everybody tomorrow. That’s what she would be saying.”
People there certainly haven’t forgot him. A banner hung on the concourse near section 113 Wednesday that read “Good luck Charlie and Phillies. Buena Vista, Va.”
Manuel wasn’t an instant hit in fickle Philly. He sounded funny to the locals and didn’t bring the outgoing, fiery attitude of his predecessor, Larry Bowa.
Although fans needed time to warm to Manuel, the players loved him almost immediately. He had the support of former Phillies first baseman Jim Thome, and his easygoing style was a welcome change from the contentious Bowa era.
“He has a lot to do with keeping us all confident and calm at the same time,” closer Brad Lidge said. “He’s made us feel great the entire year.”
Phillies pitcher Brett Myers said Manuel was a father figure in the clubhouse.
“We always look up to him and respect him for whatever he has to say,” Myers said. “He keeps us up in the clubhouse and lets us be individuals, and that’s a pretty good guy to play for.”
Manuel’s no pushover, though. He pulled NL MVP Jimmy Rollins from a game in June for failing to run hard on a popup, then later benched him for arriving late to the ballpark for a game against the division rival Mets.
Rollins credited former GM Ed Wade for hiring Manuel, and Gillick for sticking with him when it might have been easier to bring in his own guy.
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Manuel has made more of his managerial career than he did as a player. He batted .198 in 242 career games with the Twins and Los Angeles Dodgers, then became a star slugger in Japan.
He had a 220-190 record in his first big league managerial stop with the Cleveland Indians, leading them to the AL Central championship in 2001.
That’s now just a footnote in a career forever stamped with a World Series championship.
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