Rob Thomson planned to retire after the 2022 season
The Philadelphia Phillies have their head coach set in stone for the next two years, but Rob Thomson wasn’t planning to coach past this season.
According to Matt Gelb of The Athletic, Rob Thomson was set to retire at the end of this season, making 2022 his last year as a bench coach.
Check out Gelb’s full article here >>
Thomson reportedly approached Joe Girardi and Ned Rice, the Phillies’ assistant GM, at the end of the 2021 season and told them that he (Thomson) was planning to hang it up. With the future unknown for Thomson, and the Phillies loading up on talent in the offseason, what was set up to be a successful regular season for Joe Girardi flipped to a legendary 130 games for Thomson.
Rob Thomson was promoted to interim manager on June 3rd when Joe Girardi was fired with a 22-29 record. The vibes were down in the clubhouse, the team needed a new leader, and the Canada native took over and absolutely flipped the culture, attitude, and the City of Philadelphia knew they had their guy.
Philadelphia Erupts for Rob Thomson
Thomson proceeded to shine in his first head managerial gig, going 65-46, pushing the team to a final record of 87-75, and sending the Phillies to the playoffs for the first time since 2011. Thomson finished just fifth in NL Manager of the Year voting.
It’s no secret that the clubhouse is behind Thomson, as they’ve shown endless support to the skipper, who completely turned around a struggling team. The Phillies have had a reoccurring history of playoff collapses, and the Phillies’ performance over the last three and a half months says a lot about Thomson.Â
Entering each and every series as underdogs, the Phillies didn’t care. They beat the Cardinals in two games, beat the Braves in five games, beat the Padres in five games, and took the lethal Houston Astros six games into the World Series before ultimately coming up just short on baseball’s biggest stage.
With Rob Thomson now on a 2-year deal, the Phillies have their manager til at least the end of the 2024 season.
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