Charlie Manuel will have to keep looking. Despite many considering former Phillies manager Charlie Manuel to be a candidate to manage the Washington Nationals, the Nationals have gone in another direction. It was widely reported today that Matt Williams, current Arizona Diamondbacks third base coach, will be named the new Nationals manager. It does not appear that Manuel got an interview.
Former Phillies player Jayson Werth was pushing for Manuel at the time:
“I owe him a lot,” said Werth, standing at his locker in the visitor’s clubhouse at Turner field, talking about Manuel for nearly 15 minutes. “I took a lot for me to win him over, but once he put me in there, he believed in me as much if not more than anyone I’ve ever played for. I owe him a lot. He was the one that kind of pushed me to become the player I became….He’s the best manager I ever played for".
Williams was a member of the World Champion 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks and is said to be close to Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo.
Generally, announcements like this are not made during the World Series, but since the news is already out there, maybe MLB will allow it.
