We're going to hear from pretty much everyone ever associated with the Charlie Manuel era over the next few days, sharing their thoughts and reflecting on what a great guy Charlie is and how much he loved the game. Obviously we plan on sharing some of our favorites.
One guy's view that jumped out at us today came from enemy territory, that of current Washington National Jayson Werth who is down playing the Braves in Atlanta. Werth, of course, is forever a member of the 2008 WFC Philadelphia Phillies and Manuel played a huge role in helping Werth become the player he is today.
Werth called Manuel "The best manager I ever played for" and apparently went on for some time talking about Charlie. His thoughts on how Chase Utley epitomized what Charlie loved about the game were what made us feel the need to share. From the Washington Times, which has much more of Werth on Charlie worth checking out:
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“Those guys were strong personalities, kind of lead by example, you know?” he said. “I think if Charlie could adopt Chase Utley I think he probably would. He loves him that much. He loves the way he plays. That was the mantra there. Chase was the model of who Charlie really wanted everybody to play like. Plays hard, plays the right way, keeps his mouth shut. Just fall in line. It wasn’t that hard.”
Check out all of our Charlie Manuel coverage here.