It was June of 2022.
The Philadelphia Phillies hadn’t made the playoffs since 2011 and had made the decision of firing manager Joe Girardi.
The team had made important investments on the roster in previous months and years, most notably Bryce Harper.
However, their bench coach at the time, Rob Thomson, took over for Girardi and started changing the franchise culture to a winning one.
With a silent, yet powerful leadership style, Thomson took the Phils not only to the postseason, but also to the World Series that year.
After another season and another National League Championship Series appearance in 2023, the team decided to reward him with a nice contract extension.
“The Phillies have extended manager Rob Thomson through the 2025 season, the team announced,” MLB on FOX tweeted.
The Phillies have extended manager Rob Thomson through the 2025 season, the team announced. pic.twitter.com/WtZaGFK296
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) December 4, 2023
The extension will keep Thomson leading the Phillies for the next two seasons, at the very least.
A former catcher and third baseman in the eighties, Thomson joined the Yankees for a variety of roles that included managing the Class-A Oneonta Yankees, major league field coordinator, bench coach, and third-base coach, the latter from 2009 to 2014.
He was, again, the team’s bench coach from 2015 to 2017.
The year after that, in 2018, he joined the Phillies as their bench coach.
He stayed on that role until taking over as the skipper in 2022.
All Thomson has done since taking over the Phils is win.
He has a 155-118 record, a .568 winning percentage, and two postseason appearances in two tries.
The Phillies are now one of the top contenders in the National League, and a lot of that can be attributed to Thomson.
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