Former Phillies manager Charlie Manuel is honored with the Most Courageous Sportsperson of 2024 award

Six months after suffering a stroke, former Phillies manager Charlie Manuel returned to Citizens Bank Park to throw out the first pitch on 2024 Opening Day.

He emerged from the dugout to a standing ovation, and the applause continued after he delivered the pitch to Larry Bowa behind the plate. When Bowa brought the ball back to him, he told Manuel they had to get off the field so the national anthem could start.

“Hey man, you can go. I’m going to stay and listen,” Manuel said. “Enjoy this awhile.”

It was a moment that has stayed with Manuel ever since. He reflected on his journey back to baseball ahead of an awards ceremony on Thursday honoring him as The Philadelphia Sports Writers Association’s Most Courageous Sportsperson of 2024.

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“I got to give a lot of people credit,” Manuel said. “My doctors, my nurses, everybody at the hospital, and my PT people. They should be the ones getting an award. I have my wife with me; she was there every day, and people like that is why I’m sitting here tonight.”

Manuel, 81, had to relearn how to walk and talk after the stroke that occurred during a medical procedure at a Florida hospital in September 2023. Throughout his recovery, baseball was a guiding light: Manuel began making strides with his speech when his teacher started talking to him about Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

“I didn’t ever think about having courage,” Manuel said. “I thought about getting well and living. I just thought about things like that. I never thought about dying or nothing like that. I just tried to do what I was told.”

Throughout his recovery journey, support from the place where he managed the 2008 Phillies to a World Series title has been immense.

“I cannot imagine someone getting messages, reaching out to you, like people have,” Manuel said. “It’s absolutely amazing. I’m not bragging about it. I don’t know how to act. … But in return, I also love them, really.”

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Manuel’s passion for teaching has never left him. Before throwing that first pitch last March, he had been a fixture at the Phillies complex in Clearwater, Fla. during spring training, watching batting practice from his customary spot behind the cage.

It was the only place he’s ever wanted to be. During his managerial career, Manuel looked forward to being at the ballpark so much that he made sure he always the first one there every day.

“The only guy who ever beat me to the ballpark was Roy Halladay,” Manuel said. “And I got mad, and I started coming in earlier than he did.”

Even when he’s not there in person, Manuel will still watch two or three baseball games a day during the season — the Phillies on one screen, the triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs on another, and whatever the other big MLB matchup of the day is on a third.

And his love of the sport isn’t just limited to professional baseball. Manuel, who is an investor in the youth baseball and softball company Perfect Game, occasionally can be found incognito at his local Little League field doing what he loves most.

“I’ll always go to the ballpark,” he said. “If I’m home, and it’s in the fall of the year, some Little League’s got a tournament, I’ll put my hat on. Go over to Auburndale, [Florida]. Put some glasses on, go sit down by myself, and watch baseball.”