Philadelphia Phillies: Fans on Twitter love Charlie Manuel

The Philadelphia Phillies just haven’t been the same since Charlie Manuel was released of his duties in 2013.

The Phils have cobbled together exactly zero pennants, one season with a winning record, and haven’t seen the postseason since that fateful October day in 2011 when Ryan Howard tore his Achilles on the final out of the game.

Has any single play ever personified the end of an era better than that one? If so, I haven’t seen it.

While Manuel was never held in particularly poor regards by fans in the immediate aftermath of his firing, the decision to bring him back into the Phillies’ family first as both a senior advisor to the general manager and as a hitting coach was met with near-universal acclaim, as seeing Uncle Charlie in pinstripes on a baseball diamond just feels right.

Need proof? Just look no further than Twitter, as fans have been showing their favorite Philadelphia Phillie a ton of love as he traverses the wonderful world of social media.

Charlie Manuel is earning some digital love from Philadelphia Phillies fans.

Charlie Manuel is a must-follow on social media if you’re a fan of the Philadelphia Phillies, of baseball, or of Philadelphia sports in general. He shares pictures of his very cool Jeep Wagoneer, talks about his favorite meals at Cracker Barrel, and even hints at having a fantastic linguine salad recipe that, to this point at least, he’s yet to share with the world.

And now, almost eight years after opening up his Twitter account, Manuel can boast having 50,000 followers, which is more than some of his players have.

Granted, does Manuel give off the vibes of a clout chaser; a social media user who cares only about the likes? Goodness no, if anything, Manuel could have gotten to 50,000 Twitter followers a whole lot faster if he’d have been more down to “play the game,” but I couldn’t think of a better person to reach such a historic milestone than the Phillies’ former skipper, as he’s getting some much-deserved love while he can still appreciate it.

This isn’t going to be one of those “he was so underrated, I wish people appreciated his greatness,” sort of deals. No, Philly fans have made a point of making sure Manuel knows he’s appreciated in the here and now, whether that’s going to a signing, asking for an autograph at Spring Training, or by commenting positive thoughts on his Tweets.

Does Manuel know how to actually read the comments on his posts? Based on his interactions with Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia, I sort of doubt it, but hey, I would imagine he appreciates it nonetheless.

So Charlie Manuel, congratulations on the social media milestone. You’ve forgotten more about the game of basketball than most will ever learn and your thoughts on food, cars, and the game surely brightens the days of more fans than you will know. Now if only you’d share that linguine salad recipe, then we’d be really good.