Rob Thomson is unique, in all of the right ways.<\/p>\n
Not just in how he got his start as manager in Philadelphia, but in how he carried himself through his actions \u2014 even as his tenure with the Phillies came to a close.<\/p>\n
That was evident Tuesday afternoon, when Thomson took time to speak with the Philadelphia media one final time, at least for now, after being fired as Phillies manager. His professionalism was on full display.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to do this before I bounced out of town,\u201d Thomson said. \u201cAnd I wanted to get my face in front of everybody and answer the questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is rare to see a manager speak at length publicly after being let go. But after the turbulent stretch the Phillies endured to begin the year and the uncertainty that followed the road trip through Chicago and Atlanta, Thomson felt an obligation to do so.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think if you\u2019re an accountable person and you\u2019re a leader, you\u2019re going to stand up in front of people and answer the questions when it\u2019s all over,\u201d Thomson said. \u201cAnd I just wanted to make sure I did that in the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also wanted to make clear there is no lasting bad blood with Philadelphia\u2019s front office.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to clear a couple things up,\u201d Thomson said at the onset of the presser. \u201cOne, my relationship with Dave Dombrowski is rock solid. I respect the man. I think he\u2019s one of the best baseball people I\u2019ve ever been around. My relationship with John Middleton is rock solid. We all spoke this morning when they notified me of my firing, and it was a great conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n
That professionalism stood out even more after Dombrowski acknowledged he contacted recently fired Red Sox manager Alex Cora on Sunday, while Thomson still had the job, and asked if he would be interested in becoming the next manager of the Phillies. Cora declined, and the front office still went through with the firing before promoting Don Mattingly to interim manager.<\/p>\n
That sequence could have been seen as a blindside to a manager already on the hot seat.<\/p>\n
Not to Thomson. He understands the desire to win, the business side of the sport and the game inside and out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t really think too much of it,\u201d Thomson said. \u201cI think Dave\u2019s just doing his due diligence, and he had made up his mind and he was going to move forward.<\/p>\n
This guy\u2019s a Hall of Fame executive. So I think people need to trust him, and he\u2019s going to do the right thing for the organization. Dave and I have a close relationship, but that doesn\u2019t stand in the way of him doing the right thing for the organization.\u201d<\/p>\n
That level of respect and realism helped define Thomson\u2019s time in the Phillies\u2019 clubhouse. \u201cTopper,\u201d as he is known throughout baseball, brought a jolt when he took over in June 2022. He finished that season 65-46 and guided the Phillies to his fondest memory.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the thing that I\u2019m most proud of is probably winning the National League title in \u201922,\u201d Thomson said. \u201cThat was really kind of a magical year, from where we started to where we ended.<\/p>\n
And that last run during \u201922, from the regular season into the postseason, where we spent 21 or 22 days on the road and the guys got it done, that was really special.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRob Thomson shares what his proudest moment was and his biggest regret in his four years as Phillies manager.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Thomson was expected to retire after that season, but his success earned him another opportunity. He led the Phillies to three more postseason runs and, prior to the 2026 season, earned a contract extension to manage the club through 2027.<\/p>\n
But a 9-19 start ended things for Thomson and the Phillies. The marriage was over. The skipper tried different lineups, different pitching plans and different personnel combinations. The results never shook.<\/p>\n
To this point, the Phillies have struggled in almost every way. Even so, Thomson is still pulling for his guys. He loves the organization and still believes a turnaround is coming.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still think, and I hope, because I love these guys, that this team\u2019s going to turn this thing around, and they\u2019re going to get hot,\u201d Thomson said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of talent in there. And if you look at the back of the baseball cards with these guys, usually they reach those numbers by the end of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tone of the press conference was positive because Thomson had only positive things to say about the city, the fan base and the organization. His willingness to do it at all spoke volumes. It was reminiscent of Charlie Manuel speaking with reporters after he was fired on Aug. 16, 2013.<\/p>\n
Manuel, the winningest manager in franchise history, still works with the club as a senior advisor and guest instructor. His long-lasting impact is something Thomson admires. The same goes for another former Phillie and manager, Larry Bowa.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love both of them,\u201d Thomson said. \u201cJust having them around in spring training every day \u2014 and Bowa comes in every day at home to help us out with the infielders \u2014 you learn so much from them. From managing to the storytelling to how to deal with players.<\/p>\n
I just love having both those guys around all the time. They\u2019re Phillies for life, and I respect them so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
That influence is part of why Thomson, who was not officially offered an opportunity to stay with the organization, did not rule out the idea of returning in an advisory capacity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve said throughout my four years as manager here, I don\u2019t want to go anywhere else,\u201d Thomson said. \u201cI love this organization. I\u2019ve been treated with class and dignity the last eight years, ever since I came here.<\/p>\n
And I would seriously entertain staying with the organization. Maybe right now isn\u2019t the right time. Maybe we give it a little bit of a break here. But yeah, I\u2019m all in on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the end, Thomson appreciated the highs and lows that came with managing in front of a hyper-passionate fan base.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had some really good times. We\u2019ve had some bad times,\u201d Thomson said. \u201cBut all in all, I think that I\u2019ve been treated fairly by all of you and the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Thomson, who hails from Sarnia, a small city in Ontario more than 580 miles from Philadelphia, said the City of Brotherly Love made him feel right at home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve loved every minute here in Philadelphia,\u201d Thomson said. \u201cI feel like a citizen here. I really do. So it\u2019s been the best.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rob Thomson is unique, in all of the right ways. Not just in how he got his start…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":685541,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2397],"tags":[5,4,144,25,4216,40,16702],"class_list":["post-685540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia-phillies","tag-baseball","tag-mlb","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-phillies","tag-philadelphiaphillies","tag-phillies","tag-phillies-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116486001395686298","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=685540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685540\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/685541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=685540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=685540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=685540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}