(Corrects 21st paragraph to show that Astros won Game 6 in 2005 NLCS.)

Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Every professional sports team has a face, the guy who symbolizes what the roster is all about.

The defending champion Philadelphia Phillies, who open the World Series tomorrow night at Yankee Stadium, actually have two: their manager, Charlie Manuel, and their closer, Brad Lidge.

First, the manager.

Even now, with a ring on the resume, it’s easy to underestimate Manuel, whose folksy drawl makes him the antithesis of New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in engineering.

Manuel isn’t exactly erudite. He’d say so himself, probably explaining that he has little use for big words. Heck, he’s probably never even used the word erudite.

But don’t mistake simple for simpleton. Manuel has learned from life. And his hasn’t been easy.

Manuel is a refreshing alternative to the egomaniacal coach who thinks that today’s game is the most important thing there is. He knows better, having endured a number of health problems, including heart ailments, diverticulitis and a cancerous kidney. In 2000, while managing the Cleveland Indians, Manuel wore a colostomy bag in the dugout. That’s how Manuel was raised. You show up for work. No matter what.

Baseball Pays

A four-sport star during high school in Buena Vista, Virginia, Manuel had a scholarship offer to play basketball at the University of Pennsylvania. He turned it down in order to care for his mother and 10 siblings. That request came from his father, who didn’t ask face-to-face.

Charles Sr. committed suicide. He left a note for 18-year- old Charlie, already a married father, asking that he take care of the family.

Manuel chose baseball because baseball paid. He received a $20,000 signing bonus, which is about what Alex Rodriguez makes for one inning of work. One inning. That bonus helped to pay for his mother’s house.

Baseball paid, but not enough, which is why Manuel worked the graveyard shift at the local sawmill, earning almost $50 a week. Manuel kept $5 for himself. The rest went to mom.

Selflessness is a big part of success in team sports. Just ask A-Rod, who wasn’t embraced in the clubhouse until this season, when it dawned on him that a player’s value, that a person’s value, isn’t defined by his pay stub.

The Phillies have a collection of stars who conduct themselves like role players. Ryan Howard. Chase Utley. Jimmy Rollins. Their approach is the byproduct of a manager who asks only for hard work and togetherness.

No Quitters

Keep trying. Do your best. Believe. In yourself. In your teammates.

“We don’t have quitters,” Rollins says.

Not quitting, persevering, fighting through, is a perfect segue to Lidge, whose performance evaluation from last season to this one can be classified as perfect to pathetic.

Lidge was, indeed, flawless last season. Not one stumble or hiccup. Not only did he convert all 41 of his save opportunities, but his 1.95 earned run average would make any pitcher envious. He was automatic. Game over.

This season, though, Lidge posted a regular-season record of 0-8. His ERA was 7.21 and he blew 11 saves. At one point he even lost his job as the team’s closer.

Lidge didn’t whine. Didn’t sulk. Didn’t surrender, either. He just pitched, all the way into the postseason, where Lidge has allowed just one hit in four innings while saving all three of his opportunities.

‘Ready to Go’

Folks should know by now not to question the bounce-back ability of Lidge, who in 2005 was one out away from securing Houston’s first trip to the World Series. A single and then a walk brought to the plate Albert Pujols, who crushed Lidge’s 0-1 offering over the left-field wall, allowing the Cardinals to play another day.

“There’s no way this is going to get anybody down,” said Lidge, whose Astros rebounded to win Game 6 in St. Louis and reach the World Series. “This will sting a lot tonight, but when I wake up tomorrow I’ll be ready to go.”

That’s the Phillies in a nutshell.

They’re always ready to go. No excuses.

The conventional wisdom held that television executives and baseball officials were hoping for a Yankees-Dodgers World Series. Big stars. Big storylines. Biggest markets.

But the Phillies were better than Joe Torre’s Dodgers, becoming the first team since the 2001 Yankees, managed by Torre, to reach back-to-back World Series.

“We knew from the get-go that we were capable of getting back here,” was Howard’s take. “It was just a matter of us playing our game.”

The manager will be happy to explain what that means. Win isn’t all that big a word.

(Scott Soshnick is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)

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To contact the writer of this column: Scott Soshnick in New York at ssoshnick@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 27, 2009 11:56 EDT