Coaching changes usually don’t produce immediate results.
Especially in-season moves.
When the Philadelphia Phillies fired Joe Girardi after a 22-29 start and named Rob Thomson interim manager, it didn’t exactly correlate with a trip to the World Series.
The Phillies hoped that Thomson would stabilize the underachieving team. It was painfully obvious that the players weren’t responding to Girardi.
The proof was on the field.
Thomson soon made players accountable and never displayed negative emotions. He appeared stoic.
Little by little, the results on the field began to change. The Phillies started to win. Small changes led to big victories.
There was trust building between Thomson and the players. You could see it. Even when the Phillies struggled in stretches against a bad team like the Chicago Cubs.
The 59-year-old Thomson, a baseball lifer, had been preparing for this job all his professional life.
The interim tag came off before the National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves and nothing has changed. Thomson continues to guide the team in his own way.
Does every move work? Of course not.
But he’s not afraid of making unorthodox moves like bringing in Ranger Suarez to record the final two outs and a National League Championship Series victory in a 4-3 win over the San Diego Padres on Sunday.
“He’s our guy,” Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski said in a jubilant scene on the field following the NLCS win. “From the moment we named him as the interim manager, he’s shown an incredible ability to lead this franchise. He has earned everything.”
Here’s a perfect example why the players cherish their relationship with the manager.
Rhys Hoskins could have gone a different direction following some fielding miscues and mental mistakes. With a different manager, Hoskins might have been benched.
Not with Thomson.
“I had some meetings with him and was emotional at times,” Hoskins said. “We talked a lot. He believes in me and he believes in all of us. That’s huge. I don’t think you can ever say enough good things about him. If there’s something critical to talk about, we’ll talk about it. At the end of the day, we know he has our backs. That’s everything.”
Thomson spent time in the Detroit Tigers’ system as a player and soon learned from several different coaching roles, most notably as a bench coach and third base coach with the New York Yankees.
Thomson was named bench coach with the Phillies in 2018. When Girardi was hired, it seemed like a perfect partnership considering their close friendship.
In professional sports, things can change in a nanosecond.
Credit to Thomson for capitalizing on the opportunity.
This unlikely run from 22-29 to the World Series has to be considered one of the top storylines in Philadelphia professional sports.
Though Thomson doesn’t relish the spotlight, he put himself there with the job he has done. Yes, you need good players. But you also need the right leader.
Thomson was the right leader at the right time for the right job.
Four more wins and Thomson will be celebrating on a float down Broad Street.
Thomson deflected praise following a number of questions pregame and postgame. He’s laser focused on the task at hand. It doesn’t matter if it’s regular season game No. 98 or Game 1 of the World Series against the Houston Astros.
“It’s just an incredible feeling,” Thomson said matter-of-factly. “We’ll celebrate tonight. Get back to work tomorrow.”
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