Charlie Manuel

Date of Birth: 1/4/1944
Birthplace: Northfork, West Virgina

Although Charlie Manuel played baseball in high school and then was drafted by the Minnesota Twins, he played in very few games in the major leagues. He played in the majors for just six years, first with the Twins from 1969 through 1972 and then in only 19 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1974 and 1975. He never played in more than 83 games in any season and he ended his career with just a .198 batting average.

After leaving the major leagues, Manuel played in Japan from 1976 through 1981. He returned to US baseball in 1983, when he started his managing career in the minor leagues. Manuel managed in the minors for nine years (1983-1987, 1990-1993), with a stint as a hitting coach for the Cleveland Indians from 1988-1989. He returned to that position with the Indians in 1994 and remained a coach until 2000, when he became their manager.

Manuel's tenure as manager of the Indians lasted for two and a half years, before he was fired in July of 2002. His first two years were successful and the Indians had winning records in both 2000 and 2001. They had a 90-72 record, .556 win percentage and second place finish in the American League Central division in 2000 and the following year was even better, with a 91-71 record, .562 win percentage and first place finish in the division. However, the team faltered in the first half of the 2002 season, having just a 39-47 record and .453 win percentage in 86 games.

After his 2002 firing, Manuel was hired by the Philadelphia Phillies as a special assistant to the general manager. He stayed in that position through the 2004 season. He became the Phillies manager in 2005 and in eight seasons, Manuel was very successful. Under his leadership, the Phillies had five first place finishes in the NL East division, two second place finishes, and their only third place finish in 2012. The Phillies had been in playoff games for five seasons (2007-2011), winning the NL pennant in 2008 and 2009 and the World Series in 2008. Manuel led the Phillies to eight seasons with winning records, with a high in 2011 of 102 wins to 60 losses and a win percentage of .630. Surprisingly, with that outstanding record, Manuel was never named Manager of the Year. In 12 years as a major league manager, Manuel's record included 1,706 games, 947 wins to 759 losses and a .555 win percentage.

After a very poor start to the 2013 season, Manuel was fired and replaced by Ryne Sandberg in August, 2013. He was later hired by the Phillies as a senior advisor to their general manager.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Charlie Manuel
Baseball Reference - Charlie Manuel