Paul Hagen: Manuel arguably best Phillies manager of all time
At the end of the 2011 season, Manuel will have managed more games for the Phillies than anybody in the modern era except Mauch. He has been to the World Series twice already. No Phillies manager has ever done that. He won one.
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Lists, it seems, are the new Algonquin Round Table. It's an attention-deficit, evoke-and-provoke, Quizzo, louder-is-better world, after all. And if you disagree, you might as well catch the first horse-and-buggy to the Last Chance Saloon. Don't worry, the Pony Express will forward your mail.
Today's topic, then, is deceptively simple: Name the best Phillies manager ever.
Let's introduce the contestants. And then we'll eliminate them, one by one, in the style popularized by "American Idol" or "The Amazing Race." It's a great debate because there is no right or wrong answer, although those who differ with the final conclusion will undoubtedly respond with a more purple version of the old baseball standby that questions the umpire's eyesight and parentage. That, too, is standard operating procedure these days.
We'll ask Citizens Bank Park public-address announcer Dan Baker to do the honors for this National League game, in chronological order.
Leading off, manager of the first Phillies team to go to the World Series in 1915 . . . Pat Moran!
Next, the man who led the 1950 Whiz Kids to the World Series . . . Eddie Sawyer!
He leads all Phillies managers in wins (646) and games (1,332) from 1960 to 1968. Ladies and gentlemen . . . Gene Mauch!
Only two Phillies teams in history have won more than 100 games. So let's hear it for the man who directed the 1976 and 1977 teams to triple digits in victories . . . Danny Ozark!
The Phillies hadn't won a World Series until he took over in 1980 . . . Dallas Green!
He twice came down from the front office to put on a uniform. In 1983, his team went all the way to the World Series . . . Paul "The Pope" Owens!
He managed one of the most popular teams ever to wear red pinstripes and won a worst-to-first pennant in 1993 . . . Jim Fregosi!
This man proved his baseball smarts with a pair of world championships. Unfortunately, they came for the Boston Red Sox after he was fired by the Phils after the 2000 season . . . Terry Francona!
Widely derided for his chicken-fried accent when he was first hired, he's the only manager ever to guide the Phillies to more than one World Series appearance, winning just the second championship in franchise history in 2008 . . . Charlie Manuel!
Thanks, Dan. And now, let's start narrowing the field.
Sorry, Tito, you're the first to go. We always knew you had the right stuff to succeed, but you never had a chance here. The front office raised expectations with a "Bring It On" slogan your last season without giving you the talent to back it up. Then-general manager Ed Wade has since said firing you was the biggest mistake he ever made. But we can't give you credit for what you did after you left. Especially in Boston. Remember, this is a National League game.
Pat Moran, you might have been really good. Or not. We really don't know. We do know that you had winning seasons your first 3 years, had one losing season and then got banged. Hmmmm. You're outta here.
Pope, you were the best general manager the Phillies have ever had and were largely responsible for the first real run of excellence this franchise ever had. But your two managerial stints were basically reconnaissance missions. You hold a lofty place in team history. Just not as a manager.
Eddie Sawyer, from all accounts, you were a tremendously well-respected guy. Whiz Kids catcher Stan Lopata still refers to you as Mr. Sawyer, and after being fired in 1952 you were rehired in 1958. That counts for something. But, in the end, you only had two winning seasons. So take a seat.
Jim Fregosi, you are also an excellent manager who had to work with low payrolls and lesser talent while you were in Philadelphia. That 1993 season was a blast and we don't blame you for taking Roger Mason out of Game 6. But other than one magic carpet ride, you never won more than 70 games here.
So now we're down to the final four: Mauch, Ozark, Green and Manuel.
Danny, in addition to those 100-win seasons, you were the only Phillies manager until last season with three straight first-place finishes. But you were 2-9 in the playoffs. So you're voted off the island.
Dallas, you were the first Phillies manager to win a World Series, and for that you will always have a prominent spot in club history. The story of how you whipped a group of underachieving superstars across the finish line never gets old. But you only managed 299 games, and that's just not enough to make the last round.
The feeling here is that managers can't really be judged on wins and losses or even playoff appearances. For one thing, it's so much easier to make the playoffs now than it used to be. Until 1969, you had to win the pennant and then went straight to the World Series. When the leagues were realigned into divisions, it doubled the number of teams. When the leagues were split into three divisions and the wild card added in 1994, suddenly eight teams qualified each year.
For another, a manager can only do so much with the players he's been given. Casey Stengel was considered a doofus when he managed bad teams in Brooklyn. He got a lot smarter when he took over the Yankees. Ditto Joe Torre, who had a lot more success in the Bronx than he had in Atlanta or St. Louis. Stengel is in the Hall of Fame and Torre will be someday.
The only really fair yardstick is to give extra credit to those who got the most out of the talent they were given to work with. And, unfortunately, there's no precise way to measure that intangible.
The people who ran the Phillies when Mauch managed the team must have thought he was doing something right. They kept him on longer than any manager in team history even though he never went to the playoffs and had that little spot of misfortune in 1964. You might have heard about that.
Still . . .
Manuel has 2 more years left on his contract. At the end of the 2011 season, he will have managed more games for the Phillies than anybody in the modern era except Mauch. He has been to the World Series twice already. No Phillies manager has ever done that. He won one.
Yes, he has been given great talent. But last year Brad Lidge led the majors in blown saves, Cole Hamels took a step backward and Jimmy Rollins disappeared for the first half of the season. And they advanced to the Series anyway.
So, Charlie, congratulations. You were called a lot of names when you were hired and through your first couple seasons here. Now we're simply going to call you the best manager the Phillies have ever had.
Send e-mail to hagenp@phillynews.com