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Phillies Manager Manuel Keeps The Pressure Off

The Associated Press

Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel directs his team during their workout at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

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By TONY FABRIZIO | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 22, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - They have called him things like country bumpkin and Charlie Mayberry. They have made fun of his weight. They have criticized him for being too easy on his players.

But Charlie Manuel - an odd fit for hardscrabble Philadelphia - has the Phillies' clubhouse.

"He's the kind of guy that doesn't put any added pressure on anybody," catcher Carlos Ruiz said of Philly's fourth-year manager. "He has a unique way of making you feel, if you go 0-for-4 or 0-for-8, like you went 4-for-4 or 8-for-8.

"When he walks in the door, he's like your favorite uncle or your grandfather. You want to walk up to him and give him a huge hug."

Manuel was born in West Virginia and raised in Virginia, and he speaks with a thick drawl. He isn't comfortable around cameras and microphones, although he's approachable and cooperative with the media.

He hates public speaking, but he loves holding court and spinning yarns.

That hasn't always gone over well in Philly, but Manuel's players respond to him.

"He's laid-back, easygoing, simple," pitcher Jamie Moyer said. "At the same time, he's not removed from grabbing you by the ear and pulling you aside to have a little talk."

Pitcher Scott Eyre of Bradenton says that when he came to Philly from the Cubs in August, the only two rules Manuel gave him were "play hard and don't be late." He said Manuel called a meeting the other day basically to say he doesn't like meetings.

Manuel was worried about his team being too tight for the World Series starting tonight, so he had a club assistant place rubber ducks in each of the locker stalls before the players arrived Monday.

The ducks were supposed to remind players of a saying second baseman Chase Utley uses: "Get the rubber duck out of your rear." Utley had used it on Manuel after the manager was more tense than usual during a division series game.

Now players are supposed to see the ducks and remember "to play like they always have," Manuel said.

Manuel, 64, has survived a heart attack, quadruple-bypass surgery and kidney cancer. While managing the Cleveland Indians earlier this decade, he carried a colostomy bag beneath his jacket.

The week before last, he lost his mother on the day of Game 2 of the NLCS. He stayed to manage the game.

Manuel had a brief major-league career, batting .198 in 242 games with the Twins and Los Angeles Dodgers. But he went to Japan, picked up the nickname Aka-Oni (Red Devil) and clubbed 189 home runs.

He came up as a hitting instructor, like his World Series counterpart, the Rays' Joe Maddon.

The other day, Maddon was talking about his mentor, Bob Clear, a coach with the Angles in the '70s and '80s. He thought of Charlie Manuel.

"Bob Clear is the best coach nobody ever heard of," Maddon said. 'He was blood-and-guts baseball. So when I see people like that - and see people like Charlie - I have a lot of respect for them."

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