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Maddon Never Wavered

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By JOE HENDERSON

jhenderson@tampatrib.com

Published: October 29, 2008

Updated: 10/30/2008 12:44 am

PHILADELPHIA - Joe Maddon had finished his final news conference of the 2008 baseball season and stepped outside the interview room. That's when he saw Charlie Manuel, manager of the World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies.

We've watched Maddon for three years now, and of all his many human qualities perhaps the best is consistency, so you know what happened next. He went straight to Manuel, hugged the man whose team had just beaten the Rays in the World Series, and offered sincere well wishes.

"You're going to be around here for a long time," Manuel said.

As Maddon made his way toward the Rays' clubhouse, he was stopped several times by people from all over the baseball world. The postseason can be extremely stressful with its incessant off-field demands, but Maddon showed how to do this right. Everyone who offered an outstretched hand or a quiet word wanted to make sure he knew how much he was appreciated.

Around our town, though, we know that Maddon didn't suddenly become a good guy this season when the Rays won the American League pennant and became one of the best stories in years. The person we saw this season was the same one we came to know when the Rays lost 197 games his first two seasons.

So we knew how he'd be when the Rays lost 4-3 to Philadelphia here Wednesday night. While the Phillies shot off fireworks and sprayed champagne, while their fans wallowed in the euphoria that comes with such a moment, the rock-solid man from Hazelton, Pa. - just 91 miles from here - was smiling.

"I view this as just the beginning," he said.

He was content, which is different from being satisfied.

"Very few people throughout this country or the baseball world would have even guessed we could get here," Maddon said. "I'm very proud of our guys."

With Maddon, it's always about the guys.

When you look for reasons a season like this could happen, though, it keeps coming back to him. He saw this season play out before anyone else dared dream or speak of it, lest they be chased with a butterfly net. He did more than dream it, of course.

"He guided us to where we're at right now," pitcher Scott Kazmir said. "That's kind of an understatement. He showed us how to go about our business to win."

Maddon met his team for a few private minutes afterward. He said he was proud of them. He said they should feel the same. Not long after, he was in the interview room where, according to Maddon's custom, the first question went to local radio reporter Whitney Johnson - an old rock 'n' roller who asks off-the-wall questions. Maddon likes that stuff.

Johnson asked Maddon which Rolling Stones song he'd choose for a theme on this night: "Happy"? Or "Shattered"?

"'Happy,' man," Maddon said. "Absolutely. No question."

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