Charlie Manuel wasn’t where he had hoped he’d be when the Phillies began their playoff run on Tuesday night, but the beloved former manager made sure to let the fans and team know they were still in his heart.
Manuel, 79, posted a picture of himself on X, formerly Twitter, watching Game 1 of the Phillies’ Wild Card Series against the Marlins in what appeared to be a hospital room as Philadelphia cruised to a 4-1 victory at Citizens Bank Park.
He captioned the post: “Not where I hoped to be but I’m with our fans, our team, our city in my heart LFG,” with a heart emoji.
The former Phillies and Guardians manager suffered a stroke while undergoing an unspecified medical procedure in Florida on Sept. 16 but has been on the road to recovery since.
The medical staff was able to immediately treat Manuel for his stroke and remove a blood clot.
Manuel has remained active on social media since, posting his first statement on X days after the stroke, and he thanked the listeners of Philadelphia sports talk station 94.1 WIP after they continually sent him messages of support.
“I want to thank our Phillies fans, the Philadelphia area community & especially all the great @SportsRadioWIP listeners who have left messages of love and encouragement that the station has shared with me. I listened to them this morning and I got a kick out of hearing from you!” he wrote on Sept. 24.
Manuel has dealt with various health issues in the past, including a heart attack, an infected colon and kidney cancer.
Manuel, the organization’s all-time wins leader with 780, led the Phillies from 2005-13 and helped the franchise win its second World Series title in 2008.
As Philadelphia skipper, he also led the club back to the World Series in 2009, where the NL-champion Phillies fell to the Yankees.
He rejoined the organization in 2019 as a special advisor to the general manager.
Manuel finished his big league managerial career with 1,000 wins.
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