Former Phillies manager Charlie Manuel suffers stroke while in surgery; doctors remove blood clot

Former Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel suffered a stroke while in surgery Saturday.

The team announced doctors were able to remove a blood clot, and “the next 24 hours will be crucial to his recovery.”

The 79-year-old won a World Series with the team in 2008 and won the pennant the following season.

Manuel managed the Phillies for nine seasons from 2005 to 2013. It was his second managerial job after he managed Cleveland from 2000 to 2002.

He returned as the Phillies hitting coach in 2019 under manager Gabe Kapler. He also was a senior adviser to the general manager that year.

Manuel went 1,000-826 as a manager.

He’s previously had a heart attack, quadruple bypass surgery, an infected colon and kidney cancer.

He was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 2014, the year after he was fired.

His MLB playing career was unsuccessful. He hit .198 in 242 games, but he was a solid player in Japan.

Overseas, he was a .303 hitter with 189 home runs in his six seasons.

Manuel’s coaching career began in 1983 as a manager in the Minnesota Twins’ farm system.

The Phillies won the NL East each season from 2007 to 2011 under Manuel. They rallied from seven games back of the New York Mets with 17 games to play in 2007 to win the division