LOS ANGELES – Pat Moran, Eddie Sawyer, Dallas Green, Paul Owens and Jim Fregosi are members of an exclusive club.
They are the managers who took Phillies teams to the World Series.
Make room for a newcomer, boys. Charlie Manuel joined the club last night.
The 64-year-old baseball lifer, a heart attack and cancer survivor, became the latest Phillies manager to win a National League pennant when his team finished off the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-1, in Game 5 of the NLCS at Dodger Stadium.
As the final out settled into catcher Carlos Ruiz' mitt, Manuel remained in the dugout and received handshakes and hugs from his coaching staff. The greatest moment of his managerial career, which began in 1983 in the Midwest League, was bittersweet.
After the game, Manuel was scheduled to fly to Buena Vista, Va., where he will bury his mother tomorrow. June Manuel, 87, died last week after suffering a heart attack.
"I guarantee my mom is watching right now," Manuel said moments after the game.
Manuel has led the Phillies to back-to-back NL East championships and now the NL pennant.
"One more big step," he said, referring to the World Series, which begins next week. "We've got one more big step."
It was kind of fitting that the high point of Manuel's managerial career happened in Dodger Stadium. He was a former reserve player for the Dodgers and was inspired by his former Dodgers manager, Walter Alston.
"I'd sit on the bench and watch the games, waiting for my chance to pinch-hit," Manuel said after being hired by the Phillies in November 2004. "For some reason, Alston would always talk to me about the game. A couple of times, he told me I was going to manage in the big leagues one day. For some reason, I think sitting there, taking it all in, really helped my knowledge of the game."
Despite his knowledge of the game, Manuel's hiring was second-guessed when he succeeded Larry Bowa in November 2004.
Philadelphia fans wanted Jim Leyland, and Manuel knew it.
"I was aware of it," Manuel said of the negative reaction to his hiring in Philadelphia. "They're fans. There's nothing I can do about it. I can take it. I'm pretty tough.
"That's OK if people want to hear my [Southern] accent and form a quick opinion of me. I'm the kind of guy who will sneak up on you. I tell the other managers all the time, 'Go easy on me.' But in the back of my mind, I know I'm going to try to kick his [butt]. Sell me short, and I'll get you."
