Fans love to play GM or field manager on social media, thinking they know better than the front office or coaching staff. And they’ll talk a big game because most of the people who have or are currently doing the job have better things to do than put fans in their place.
But Charlie Manuel has not managed the Phillies since 2013 (though he is still coaching), so he has a bit of free time on his hands and responds to fans often.
Last week, as yet another Spongebob meme was making the rounds on Twitter, a Phillies fan took the opportunity to call out Manuel for supposedly costing the Phillies what would have been their third World Series title in 2011.
Which one was that?
— Charlie Manuel (@CMBaseball41) June 11, 2021
Facts. Go back to when we clinched. There’s a method to prepare for the p-offs. Balancing rest/staying sharp. Losing on purpose isn’t a thing. I play to win EVERY game. Winners pursue excellence over success. Champions not scared to play anybody. Glad you weren’t on our team.
— Charlie Manuel (@CMBaseball41) June 11, 2021
Sounds like you’d only have been happy if we lost last 12 games going into the playoffs. You win much?
— Charlie Manuel (@CMBaseball41) June 13, 2021
With over a decade of managerial experience, it’s safe to say that Manuel probably knows a bit more about how to lead a team to glory than most fans.
In their 139-year history, the Phillies have been to the playoffs fourteen times, won seven pennants, and two World Series championships. Manuel was the manager for five of their eleven division titles, two pennants, and their second championship. His teams set multiple franchise records, including hitting 224 home runs in 2009 and winning 102 regular-season games in 2011.
The 2011 Phillies were the first team to clinch a playoff spot and they won the division for the fifth year in a row. That was also the year Manuel became the manager with the most wins in franchise history.
Plenty of great teams throughout MLB history have had the best season of their franchise history, or even been the team everyone else predicted to win it all, only to get booted from the first round of the playoffs. Look at the 2001 Mariners winning 116 regular-season games only to lose to the Yankees in the ALCS, the Red Sox and Cubs fighting through 86 and 108-year championship droughts, and Indians not winning a World Series since 1948.
As with most things in life, hindsight is 20/20 in sports. It’s easy to look back a decade later as a fan and say that you would’ve made different decisions than Manuel. But could you do the job in real-time and make the tough calls and split-second decisions? There’s a big difference between talking a big game online and running the game in real life.