Charlie Manuel Is Baseball’s Most Loyal Man

Great managers don’t take jobs as hitting coaches when they’re 75. Until Manuel.

The greatest manager in the history of the Philadelphia Phillies is Charlie Manuel. On the franchise that has lost more games than any other in baseball history, Manuel took them to a World Series title, the only back-to-back pennants in franchise history, and a club record 780 victories.

So please explain something. With the Phils dropping like a brick in the National League East standings, from first to fourth, for the second straight season, why is it that the Phillies have brought him back as a hitting coach and not a manager to right the ship?

What is their fascination with Gabe Kapler?

The goings on of the Red Quakers might not be on the mindset of every Tri-Cities sports fan, but Manuel is something of a regional sports figure. He spent part of his youth in Wythe County, Virginia, and was born in Southern West Virginia.

Maybe that’s how he got his first coaching job in the majors. Cleveland Indians manager Doc Edwards, himself a native of Southern West Virginia, gave Manuel his first major league coaching position in 1988 despite the fact his career major league batting average was just .198.

But while geography was likely an attraction, there real attraction Edwards likely saw in Manuel was loyalty.

By 2001 Manuel had become the manager of the Indians and guided them to a division title. On June…