If you listened to the Judi and EJ Show this week, you undoubtedly learned the Phillies fired their manager, Rob Thomson. Not because we’re a sports station, but our favorite bit became confusing Rob Thomson (former Phillies manager) with Rob Thomas (lead singer of Matchbox Twenty).
On a serious note, though, I took the news of Rob Thomson being fired hard. He was one of the most successful managers the Phillies have ever employed. He holds the record for best winning percentage as Phillies Manager at .568. He went 355-270 in parts of five seasons. He brought back a love of baseball I forgot I had.
In order to truly understand how important Rob Thomson was to the Phillies, you need to learn how bad they were before he got there. In 2011 the Phillies won 102 games. It set a franchise record. After that point, they missed the playoffs for 10 consecutive seasons. They finished below .500 in nine of those ten seasons. There was legitimately no hope in Phillies land for a decade. My love for baseball has always been immense, but even I started to lose hope during that time period. It was frustrating knowing your favorite team had no chance to make the playoffs before the season even began.
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Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
But then came Rob Thomson. In 2022, after a 22-29 start, the Phillies fired manager Joe Girardi and promoted Rob Thomson. He went 65-46 the rest of the year, clinched the Phillies first playoff berth since 2011, and took the team to the World Series. It was the most magical run I can remember in my sports fandom. Going from losing season after losing season to the World Series was something I could have never dreamt up.
The following three seasons, Thomson led the Phillies to the playoffs and won the National League East two consecutive years. It was only the second time in franchise history that the Phillies won the National League East two or more years in a row. Simply put, the Phillies’ making the playoffs became the standard.
Unfortunately, no World Series Championship ever came in his time as manager. Postseason heartbreak replaced preseason pessimism. It’s two different types of pain, but I’ll take the former over the latter any day of the week.
And it’s for that reason I wanted to thank Rob Thomson. He changed the standard of what Phillies baseball is. My summer nights are spent watching Phillies games again. Even though they never reached the mountaintop, it was a helluva ride.
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The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5’s Kyle Clark. Any opinions expressed are his own.
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