Gonzo: We were wrong about Charlie Manuel

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Its easy enough to alter your reputation in this town. It only requires 645 wins and a World Series championship.

Wednesday night, when the Phillies play the Braves in the regular-season finale in Atlanta, Charlie Manuel will have the opportunity to move past Gene Mauch for the most victories by a manager in franchise history. Whether Manuel claims the record this evening or not, it will eventually happenand when it does, Manuel will be applauded by an appreciative fanbase and trumpeted by the media. How things have changed.

When Manuel came to Philadelphia in late 2004, the reception wasnt all that warm. Larry Bowa had been a fan favorite, if not nearly as well-liked by his players. At the time, the popular choice to replace the often-overheated Bowa was Jim Leylanda manager the press and public hyped as a brilliant baseball medicine man, the perfect physician to diagnose and cure a sunken, sallow franchise.

Manuel got the gig instead. Few peopleaside from Manuel and Ed Wade, who hired himseemed too thrilled about that. Instead of open arms, Manuel was welcomed with eye rolls and overt derision. Here are some of the headlines that appeared in local newspapers in the days after Manuel took over as manager:

Sorry Charlie; Swing and a Miss Manage.

Phillies choice of manager keeps skeptics afloat.

Wade whiffs at skipper search.

Those are just a few, and they were among the more polite.

The attacks back then were largely ad hominemlazy, crude criticisms about him being a hayseed or a bumpkin or somehow unequal to the task. It mattered not at all that he was a baseball lifer, respected by his peers and his players. Too many of us took nothing more than a cursory look and dismissed him as a rube.

That so many people could be so wrong about Manuel is remarkable, but more than that its an indictment of our collective evaluation process around here. Too often we submit to the reflexive mob mentality. There is strength in numbers, but there is also stupidity.

Unsurprisingly, I was no brighter than anyone else. After the Phillies were unceremoniously bounced from the 2007 playoffs by the Colorado Rockies, I blamed the manager. He was a convenient patsy. It had to be his fault, even though the players hit just .172 and left an impossible 17 runners on base in the three-game sweep. Somehow, Manuel had mucked it up. I was convinced.

It wasnt until I came back home in 2008I had lived in Dallas for four years and then Boston for four morethat I realized how wrong I was about Manuel. When you spend time talking to him or really listening to him, you come to understand that Manuel is sharp and funny, that he has a command of the game and a real feeling for how to manage his players and their disparate personalities. He is complex, and there is a mind at work.

But nuance is difficult to impart, and it doesnt always make for easy columns or loud radio shows. And so our overarching opinion of Manuel has somehow morphed from over-matched bungler to successful, affable, huggable everyman.

The new take on the man is certainly better, but its not entirely right, either.

People look at me sometimes and think Im easygoing, Manuel said. I have one of the worst tempers a man could have. Seriously. Matter of fact, I might have made the big leagues because of my temper.

Manuel told a story then. He was in the minors way back when, playing for the Twins' instructional league team. Billy Martin was managing the big league club and stopped by to take a look at some prospects. Manuel slid into second during the game, slid in hard. The second baseman didnt dig it and took a swing. Manuel dropped him. Today, you might get blackballed or labeled a problem for something like thata player to be avoided.

Billy Martin was the first guy to say something to me after that, Manuel recalled. He said, kid, youll make my team. And I made his team.

That was a long time ago and just a small part of an excellent overall career. Since then, hes been to Japanand Clevelandand now hes here. In March, he signed a two-year contract extension that will keep him in Philly through 2013. By then, Mauch will be well in his managerial rearview, and anyone who once doubted that hes the best manager in franchise history will have been shouted down and written off as nothing but an obstinate loon.

Hopefully. Maybe.

Manuel told another story recently. He was out doing an appearance a few months back when a woman came up to him and thanked him for everything hed accomplished. Manuel, as hes done consistently since becoming manager, told her the accolades ought to go to the players. Theyre the ones who made, and make, him look good, he said.

(It is that same impulse that usually had him retire to his office when the Phillies won the NL East or the National League or the World Series. He said it was ultimately the players celebration, not his.)

All the same, the woman said, he was the best manager the team has ever had. Just as Manuel was saying thank you, the womans husbandwho had remained quiet until that pointspoke up.

He said hold on now, Gene Mauch was the best manager theyve ever had, Manuel said, finishing the story. He laughed and smiled when he retold it. It was a good yarn. Maybe another 600-or-so wins and the husband will come around, too.
E-mail John Gonzalez at jgonzalez@comcastsportsnet.com

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