After Slow Start to Season Philadelphia Phillies Have Fired Manager Rob Thomson
Perhaps it was the house cleaning in Boston that inspired them. Or the poor play of the team that put the nail in the coffin. Either way, a change has been made in the city of Brotherly Love. After a slow start to the season the Philadelphia Phillies have fired manager Rob Thomson. Don “Donny Baseball” Mattingly has been named as the interim manager. Currently, the Phillies are in last place at 9-19 in the National League East, tied with the New York Mets. A team that is having its own struggles this season.
Nevertheless, the Phillies have had a rough season thus far in all phases of the game. They have some of the best players in the league, but they haven’t performed up to their potential which has led to the dismissal of Thomson. Thomson joined the Phillies in 2018 as a bench coach and in June 2022 was hired as the interim manager, after the firing of Joe Girardi. In that same year he led the Phillies to their first playoff appearance since 2011. And in October 2022 he was named the full-time manager and led the Phillies to their first National League Pennant since 2009.
Thomson leaves the organization with an excellent record. He has the highest winning percentage (.568) of any manager in franchise history in the Modern Era (since 1900). And he is only the second manager in Phillies history to guide the team to four consecutive postseason appearances. But things change rapidly in life and sports. Just last week Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said last Tuesday in Chicago that a managerial change is “not being pondered at this point.” Saying “at this point” gave him leeway to change his mind which he did.
After Slow Start to Season Philadelphia Phillies Have Fired Manager Rob Thomson
Something of note is the fact that the Phillies’ general manager under Dombrowski is Mattingly’s son, Preston Mattingly. Furthermore, the Red Sox had previously fired manager Alex Cora leaving some to speculate if there could be a Dombrowski-Cora reunion. But at any rate some players are saddened by the loss of Thomson. Left fielder Kyle Schwarber said:
“You feel as a player, you feel responsible for that,” Schwarber said. “We’re the ones who are out there. … All of our coaches are here to support and put us in the best positions that we can [be in]. Even though we’re not playing like we feel like we should be playing, that hasn’t changed their attitudes toward us. They try to come in on a daily basis to continue to get us better, and they continue to put us in great positions to succeed.”
Interim coach Don Mattingly has plenty of experience as a player and manager. So maybe he can cure whatever is ailing the Phillies
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