Roy Oswalt has played 13 major-league seasons, has pitched in a World Series, three National League Championship Series and four postseasons.
That’s quite a career.
So, who has been Oswalt’s best manager? On Monday before the Phillies beat Oswalt’s Rockies, the 35-year-old righty took Charlie Manuel.
“It was always fun coming in and competing against [Manuel] and also playing for him,” Oswalt said to Comcast SportsNet's Leslie Gudel. “He was probably the best manager I’ve had in the big leagues.”
Oswalt was acquired by the Phillies at the 2010 trade deadline and helped the club reach an NLCS and win two division titles during the team’s golden era of 2007-11.
“You still look at this [Phillies] lineup over there, they’ve still got a great team,” Oswalt said. “I think the biggest thing is those guys coming back together and putting quality innings up as pitchers and playing quality ball as players. But the funny thing about baseball is someone has to take the fall, and usually it goes back on the manager.
“Charlie was kind of the face of the Phillies for awhile and had done a great job.”
What made Manuel so successful in Philadelphia?
“I think he just really related to the players,” Oswalt said. “Charlie’s straight forward, he asks you to do something and that’s what he expects from you and when he tells you something, that’s the way it’s gonna be. As a player, you don’t ask much more than that.
“The worst thing as a player is someone tell you something and then go behind your back and do something different, and Charlie was a man of his word. The first day I got here, he was just an unbelievable players’ manager.”