Manuel has Proven He is Tough Enough

When the word filtered down that Charlie Manuel was to succeed the fiery Larry Bowa at the beginning of the 2005 campaign, the announcement of his hiring was met with less than unbridled joy.

Oh, Charlie had limited success at the major league level, having had managed the Cleveland Indians to a second place finish in 2000, followed by a first place finish in 2001.  However, after a slow start by the Tribe in 2002, Manuel was handed his walking papers on July 11.  Charlie did, however, arrive with the reputation as a great hitting coach and the dreaded label, “players’ manager,” as if that denoted a less than firm disciplinarian. However, the front office apparently had enough of the temperamental Bowa’s constant run-ins with his athletes.

Philadelphia is a city also known for its vociferous fan base and many felt that the affable Charlie Manuel, would be fodder for its legions. Add all of the above to the fact that the new skipper had a slight stutter and spoke with a thick Appalachian accent, and you had the recipe for a quick dismissal if Charlie’s troops did not perform up to expectations.

For many fans and in particular to many of the talk-show nitwits that permeate many major markets, Charlie was an easy target. The Phils finished at 88-74 in the new manager’s initial season, a second place finish. However, when Charlie’s 2006 edition also finished in second place (85-77), the grumbling grew louder.

The following season, 2007, saw the Phillies start slowly, as they fell behind their rivals from the north, the New York Mets. Following a particularly frustrating defeat, which dropped the Phillies seven games behind the Mets, Philadelphia talk-show host Howard Eskin, questioned Charlie’s toughness. Literally insinuating at the post-game press conference that Manuel was not tough enough to manage the Phillies, the normally genial manager blew a gasket. “Not tough enough?” Charlie countered.  “Not tough enough?  I’ll show you whose tough enough.  Come in to my office and close the door behind you.  You’ll find out if I’m tough enough!”  With that, Charlie stormed off of the podium and strode purposefully to his office, leaving the door ajar. Eskin, at last displaying that he at least possessed a minimal amount of intelligence, did not follow the perturbed Manuel into the room.

Of course, the Phillies turned things around to win the National League East that year and the next three after that, winning two league championships and a World Series.

Howard Eskin knew very little about the man whose courage he foolishly questioned. Charles Fuqua Manuel was born in the tiny Blue Ridge Mountain town of Buena Vista, Virginia. What most folks don’t know about ol’ Charlie was that he was one of the most recruited athletes in the United States. Manuel was so good, in fact, that he was recruited to play basketball at North Carolina, a basketball factory, and also solicited to play football at the University of Michigan, a football powerhouse.

How good was Manuel?  Well, he was the captain of both the baseball and basketball teams at Parry McCluer High School in Buena Vista, was an all-star in basketball for three years, an MVP in basketball twice and an MVP in baseball, once.

However, Charlie’s dreams of starring in college were shattered when his father, a preacher, suffering from late-stage diabetes, committed suicide on April 9, 1963.  In a suicide note, Charlie’s dad asked him to take care of his mom, June, and 10 brothers and sisters in the tiny Blue Ridge Mountain town. To further make matters difficult, Charlie, then nineteen years of age, was married, with a son. Charlie soon signed a $20,000 contract with the Minnesota Twins and gave a large portion of the money to his mom.

Charlie had a severe stuttering problem as a child, which he also overcame. Charlie has survived cancer, three heart attacks and bypass surgery. This is a man that knocked around the major and minor leagues for thirteen years and another six seasons in Japan.  Charlie has also put in another eighteen years as a scout, coach and minor league manager.

Does he sound like a guy not tough enough to manage a baseball team?

Coming soon, Manuel’s career as a ballplayer.