Portal:Philadelphia/Selected article/December 2008

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Hugh Duffy, manager, 1904–1906.
Hugh Duffy, manager, 1904–1906.

The Philadelphia Phillies has employed 51 managers and 10 general managers (GMs). Duties of the manager include team strategy and leadership on and off the field. Of those 51 managers, 15 have been "player-managers", who managed the team while still being signed as a player. In contrast, the general manager controls player transactions, hires and fires coaching staff, and negotiates players' contracts. The Phillies posted their franchise record for losses in a season during their record-setting streak of sixteen consecutive losing seasons (with a winning percentage below .500), with 111 losses in 154 games in 1941. During this stretch from 1933 to 1948, the team had seven different managers, all of whom posted winning percentages below .430 for their Phillies careers. Seven managers have taken the Phillies to the postseason, with Danny Ozark leading the team to three playoff appearances. Dallas Green and Charlie Manuel are the only Phillies managers to win a World Series: Green in 1980 against the Kansas City Royals; and Manuel in 2008 against the Tampa Bay Rays. The longest-tenured GM has been Paul Owens, with 11 years' service, from 1972 to 1983. Owens also served as the team manager in 1972, and from 1983 to 1984. After this, he served as a team executive until 2003, and was inducted into the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame in recognition of his services.