Today in Philly Sports History: Uncle Cholly Climbs Aboard, 2004

Ain't cha never heard of Charlie Manuel? If Phillies fans didn't know the one-time Japanese baseball legend and more recent manager of the Cleveland Indians, they certainly got to know him quickly after he was introduced by then-GM Ed Wade as the Phillies' new skipper on November 4th, 2004, replacing the recently departed Larry Bowa. "We've chosen Charlie Manuel because he is a winning, championship-caliber manager," explained Wade, in an uncharacteristically prophetic moment. "Charlie has the great ability to communicate with his players and build relationships with them, yet he demands excellence."

The hitting guru, who had overseen the Indians on their historic 1,000-run season in 1999, oversaw the team's transition into one of the best-hitting clubs in the majors, with the emergence of Chase Utley and Ryan Howard as offensive prodigies, as well as the eventual turning around of reclamation projects like Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth (both of whom, lest we forget, were LA cast-offs before blossoming into all-stars in Philly). Meanwhile, Manuel did a fantastic job of keeping the clubhouse relatively free of drama, holding his players accountable for their actions, and rarely coaching his team out of games, as they've chugged to three straight NL East titles and two straight World Series appearances.

Despite only managing here for a half-decade of the team's 127 seasons in the bigs, there's a pretty convincing argument to be made for Manuel being the best manager in team history. Obviously, he's on a short list of managers who won a World Series as a Phillie--the only other being Dallas Green, who only stayed in Philly for three seasons before bolting to Chicago to serve as the Cubs' GM. His main competition for the honors from a win perspective would have to be Danny Ozark, who also presided over three NL East champs, including two straight 101-win seasons. But a couple key game-managing slips in big post-season moments, as well as an overall lukewarm relationship with his team and city, have hurt Ozark's rep in retrospect. Meanwhile, for one reason or another, other skips who guided the Phils to the playoffs--Jim Fregosi, Eddie Sawyer, Paul Owens--could never build a consistent culture of winning.

Personally, I say the distinction is Manuel's for the losing--none of us know what future seasons hold for Uncle Cholly in the red-and-white, but if he retired at the end of the week, I think he'd have to go down in the books as the greatest manager the Phillies ever had. What say you on the matter?

Comments

[Matt P.]

Great point on his likely role in the emergence of Victorino and Werth.

Chollie had some major trouble with the double-switch early on, but since then, he's been all we could ask for as a manager, including being entirely likable.

Also on this day in history—Mo Rivera blows a save in the 7th game of the World Series, Yankees lose to Arizona.

[mplant]

Back-to-back World Series appearances with at least one title, three straight division titles, hasn't won fewer than 85 games or finished lower than second in any of his five seasons. Tough putting anyone ahead of him at this point

[mplant]

Oh, and I'll be the first to admit I wanted the Phillies to hire Jim Leyland. And I'll be the first to admit I was dead wrong

[Mr. Bryan]

mplant, I'll be second.

[Horseface Hughes]

Anyone remember the cast of characters they interviewed to replace Bowa?? I mean Jim Fergosi again..Are you kidding me..It was a circus..I think Leyland's first suggestion was to move Burell which didn't sit well with management.

[Benjamin]

I usually don't complain about coaching selections, because I don't know as well as General Management. I was happy to hear Reid was coming to town, and I didn't know what to make of Charlie when he came. If I recall, most of the sports media considered it an outrage that the Phillies put on a charade of interviews, as though the were actually considering more than just Charlie, when it was apparent they were set on Charlie to begin with.

Anyways...easily #1 Phillies Manager in their history. The real question is: where does Charlie Manuel rank as all-time greatest Philly sports team coaches/managers??

[Jeff #2]

It's hard to argue that Manuel is NOT the best manager in Phillies history. He's definitely got my vote. The best part is, the tipping point that led to this status seemed to occur right around the time when he threatened to beat the hell out of Eskin. That's good karma right there.

[I been grown up]

this really was the turning point in charlie Manual's career..Wish the video was still posted somewhere.

http://www.the700level.com/2007/04/charlie_manuel_.html