8/22/13
The managerial search was really down to two candidates in
November of 2004. It was down to Jim Leyland or Charlie Manuel. Leyland is a
dictator, but the players love playing for him. Also, everybody loves how fiery
Leyland is when he argues with the umpires and gets ejected. As for Manuel, he
has been known as the “hitting guru.” Everybody in baseball respects him
because he has that southern laid back attitude and lets the players have fun.
He’s the epitome of being a players’ manager. In the end, the Phillies hired
Charlie Manuel to become the team’s 51st manager in Phillies
history. Manuel and his calm player-friendly demeanor, was replacing Larry Bowa
and his fiery attitude. Larry Bowa was beloved when he was a player and manager
of the Phillies. Everybody loved how animated he was when he got ejected by the
umpires.
It seemed like a conspiracy at the time that Manuel was
hired as Phillies manager. He was already a special assistant to General
Manager Ed Wade from 2003-2004 and his favorite slugger to teach hitting to,
Jim Thome, was already on the Phillies. Did anybody think Manuel would be this
popular in Philadelphia? No. In his first two years as manager, his teams
finished close but no cigar in clinching a wildcard spot in the playoffs. His
success would really kick in during the 2007 season. When the Phillies overcame
a seven game deficit in chasing the New York Mets at the very end of the
season, the Phillies clinched their first NL East Divisional champions. This
was when the magic started and it didn’t end after that year. In 2008, the
Phillies once again had to overcome another deficit by the Mets. Instead of it
being seven games back within the division, it was three. The Phillies kept
riding the hot streak through the playoffs as Manuel and his Phillies won the
World Series that year. In 2009, the Phillies went to the World Series again
only to lose against the Evil Empire New York Yankees. This was when the
downward spiral started and it took a turn for the worse. The Phillies grinded
their way to the playoffs in 2010 only to get bounced out of the playoffs
against the San Francisco Giants in the NLCS. In 2011, the Phillies won a
franchise record 102 games in the regular season. It was also the final year
that the Phillies were NL East Champions. They lost in the NLDS in five games
to the St. Louis Cardinals. It was a remarkable five year run that nobody will
forget.
Everything went downhill last year. Last year the excuse
that was thrown out for an 81-81 season was that injuries derailed their
chances to be in the playoffs for their sixth year in a row. Ryan Howard was
recovering from a torn achilles injury that he suffered during his final at bat
in the 2011 playoffs. Chase Utley was having problems with his knees. Roy
Halladay, Cliff Lee, Jose Contreras, Jim Thome, Laynce Nix, Vance Worley,
Freddy Galvis, Brian Schneider, Placido Polanco, and Carlos Ruiz all spent time
on the disabled list last year. It was a disaster waiting to happen. The
Phillies gave Manuel one last chance this year to see if last year was just a
fluke year. Turns out that it was not a fluke and the Phillies were sinking
into a giant black hole. The players got old and the minor league prospects
were not ready to contribute to the big club.
On August 16, a few days after Manuel notched career win
number 1,000, the Phillies decided to fire him and replace Manuel with Ryne
Sandberg. Sandberg was the team’s incumbent manager since the day he was hired
to coach third base for the Phillies. This was going to be Manuel’s last year
with the ball club as he was in a lame duck year. It would have been nice if
the Phillies would have let Manuel finish out the year the way Andy Reid was
allowed to finish the 2012 season for the Philadelphia Eagles. The Phillies
were going to honor Manuel the next day for achieving his 1,000th
career win.
How will I remember Charlie Manuel? I will remember him as a
winner. He is the all-time winningest manager in Phillies history. I know fans
will say that Manuel was a winner because he managed talented teams in 2008 and
2009, but anyone could be a good manager if they have talent on their team. He
was always known for his teams to heat up and play well after the all-star
break. Manuel had a big impact on players like Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth,
and Jim Thome just to name a few. Obviously people make fun of Manuel for his
bumbling southern drawl, but the one thing that made fans pull their hair out
about Manuel was his in-game managerial decisions. He would decide more losing
outcomes than winning outcomes. Manuel had two rules for his players; and it
was to be on time and hustle. Those rules stand out to me because it seemed
like this year and last, the Phillies didn’t hustle as much as they did in
previous years.
So was it really worth hiring Charlie Manuel over Jim
Leyland? I would say yes because his record says it all. In 8 ¾ seasons, Manuel
compiled a 780-636 record with the Phillies. Manuel went to the playoffs five
years in a row, won one World Series and two NL Pennants. Leyland was hired by
the Tigers in October of 2005. As of now, he has a 680-580 record in eight
years as Tigers manager. Leyland has won two AL pennants and won Manager of the
Year in 2006.
What do you guys
think of Charlie Manuel’s tenure as Phillies manager? Was the 8 ¾ run worth it?
Sound off.
