Charlie Manuel

Template:Infobox MLB manager Template:Infobox MLB retired Charles Fuqua Manuel (born January 4, 1944 in Northfork, West Virginia) is the current manager of the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball.

Baseball playing career

Major League Career

Manuel played from 1969 to 1972 with the Minnesota Twins and in 1974 and 1975 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, primarily as a pinch-hitter and left fielder. A four-sport star at Parry McCluer High School in Buena Vista, Virginia, Manuel's first love was basketball but saw a chance to earn more money as a baseball player. Manuel had offers from the Pirates, Tigers, Yankees and signed with the Twins out of high school in 1963 for $20,000.

Japanese professional league

Manuel's baseball career took off when he left the United States to play in Japan. Wildly popular for his tenacious style of play and his power-hitting abilities, Manuel was dubbed "Aka-Oni" (The Red Devil) by fans and teammates.

In 1977, he hit .316 with 42 home runs and 97 RBI, helping the Central League's Yakult Swallows reach second place for the first time in franchise history. In 1978, he hit .312 with 39 homers and 103 RBI, powering the Swallows to their first pennant and the Japan Championship Series. In 1979, playing for the Pacific League's Kintetsu Buffaloes, Manuel became the first American to be named the Pacific League MVP after hitting .324 with 37 home runs and 94 RBI. A year later, Manuel set the record for most home runs by an American with 48 and led the league with 129 RBI in only 118 games, cut short when he was hit in the face by a pitch. In 1981, he returned to the Yakult Swallows.

Manuel finished his successful run in Japan with a .303 career average, 189 home runs and 491 RBI. He was considered one of the best imported baseball players to Japan in those days, along with Leron and Leon Lee brothers and Randy Bass.

During his time in Japan, Manuel learned to speak Japanese. This has become an asset, as he has been able to communicate with players such as So Taguchi and Tadahito Iguchi.

"Headgeared Helmet"

At a game against the Lotte Orions on June 19, 1979, he was hit in the face by a pitch from Soroku Yagisawa. The pitch crushed his jaw, and he was told from his doctor that he needed at least two months to recover. However, he returned to the game after being sidelined for only 14 games, as the Buffaloes were struggling to win the first-half season championship. To protect his bruised jaw, Manuel wore a helmet equipped with a football face mask. The team went on to win the first-half championship, and eventually won the pennant for the whole season.

Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians minor league manager

Ultimately, injuries,including a beaning in Japan, cut Manuel's playing days short. He returned to the United States to work as a scout for the Minnesota Twins organization before turning to coaching. As a minor league manager for nine years in the Twins' (1983–1987) and Indians' (1990–1993) farm systems, Manuel compiled a 610–588 (.509) record, winning the Pacific Coast League and International League championships in his final two seasons (1992–1993). He was named Manager of the Year three times (1984, 1992, 1993) and managed the IL All-Star team in 1993.

Cleveland Indians manager

Manuel returned to the Majors as a coach in 1988 as the Indians' hitting coach (1988–1989, 1994–1999), where under his tutelage, the Tribe led the American League in runs three times (1994–1995, 1999) and set a franchise record in 1999 with 1,009 runs, becoming the first team to score 1,000 runs since the 1950 Boston Red Sox. The club also led the league in home runs in 1994 and 1995. From 2000 to 2002, he served as the Indians' manager.

He was fired as manager of the Cleveland Indians on July 12, 2002 over a contract dispute.

Philadelphia Phillies manager

Shortly after he was fired as manager for the Cleveland Indians, Manuel was hired by the Phillies as special assistant to the general manager. After the 2004 season, Manuel was hired as the club's 51st manager, replacing Larry Bowa. In his first season, Manuel and the Phillies went 88–74, only one game back of the Wild Card.

In 2006, Manuel and the Phillies finished just short of the playoffs once again, this time three games back of the wild card. However, the season did have certain positives that bode well for next season. Second-year slugger Ryan Howard hit a franchise record 58 home runs, second baseman Chase Utley was named a starter in the 2006 MLB All-Star Game, and rookie pitcher Cole Hamels showed progress and the potential that he could one day become the club's ace.

After starting the 2007 season with a horrible 4–11 record, Manuel and the Phillies had to battle countless injuries all season, including losing newly acquired pitcher Freddy García for the season. Howard, Utley, and Hamels also missed significant playing time. Hamels led the pitching staff with a 15–5 record, while Jimmy Rollins had a huge season, including a MLB record for at-bats in a season with 708 through all 162 games played. In a dramatic finale to the season, the Phillies captured the National League East title from the collapsing Mets, but were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Colorado Rockies.

Manuel finished second in balloting for the National League Manager of the Year Award for 2007.

Howard Eskin confrontation

During the Phillies' post-game press conference following the team's 8–1 loss to the New York Mets on April 17, 2007, Philadelphia radio personality Howard Eskin repeatedly questioned Manuel why he didn't challenge his players and said he thinks Charlie doesn't get angry with his players, to which Charlie said he may get angry more than he thinks with his players and invited him to his office so that he can show how angry he can be. Eskin, a controversial afternoon drive host on local sports-talk station WIP-610, has criticized Manuel since the Phillies manager's hiring three years ago.

Personal

Manuel has survived a heart attack, quadruple bypass surgery, and cancer. During his time with the Indians he worked in the dugout with a colostomy bag beneath his jacket.

He is not related to New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel. Manuel currently has a fiancée named Missy.

His mother died on October 10, 2008, at age 87. She had suffered a heart attack earlier in the week.

Managerial records

Team	Year	Regular Season				Post Season
		Won	Lost	Win %	Finish	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
CLE	2000	90	72	.556	2nd in AL Central	-	-	-	-
CLE	2001	91	71	.562	1st in AL Central	2	3	.400	Lost in ALDS
CLE	2002	39	48	.448	3rd in AL Central	-	-	-	-
PHI	2005	88	74	.543	2nd in NL East	-	-	-	-
PHI	2006	85	77	.525	2nd in NL East	-	-	-	-
PHI	2007	89	73	.549	1st in NL East	0	3	.000	Lost in NLDS
PHI	2008	92	70	.569	1st in NL East	5	1	.750	NLCS

See also

• List of Major League Baseball managers in 2006
• List of Major League Baseball managers in 2007
• List of Major League Baseball managers in 2008

External links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career managing record and playing statistics.