The current head coach of the Phillies officially said, “We are the back,” with boldness due to their upcoming match with…
PHILADELPHIA—Call him Philly Rob. Call him Topper.
Whatever the nickname, Rob Thomson will be the Philadelphia Phillies‘ manager for at least the next two seasons.
After leading the Phillies to two consecutive NL Championship Series appearances, Thomson signed a one-year contract extension until the 2025 season.
He spent much of 2022 as an interim manager. Thomson will no longer have to enter 2024 as a limp duck.
“It’s good to know that you’ve got that extra year,” Thomson said Monday at baseball’s winter meetings, “but if I didn’t get it, it probably wouldn’t have bothered me.”
Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, and Nick Castellanos batted 5 for 53 (.094) with 11 walks, 22 strikeouts, and two RBIs in Philadelphia’s four NLCS losses. In Game 7, the four went 1 for 15 against six Arizona pitchers, striking out five and scoring no runs.
Thomson guided the Phillies to a 90-72 record in 2023, their first 90-win season since 2011. In October, he became the third manager in MLB history to win 18 of his first 25 postseason games, joining Hall of Famers Joe McCarthy and Casey Stengel.
Thomson has been with the club since the 2018 season, when he was appointed as a bench coach by previous manager Gabe Kapler.
Thomson had stated that he intended to retire after the 2022 season until he was promoted to manager. Thomson stated after the season that he had no plans to retire and intended to manage as long as the Phillies wanted him.
With Harper now a full-time first baseman and Schwarber and Turner among the returning sluggers, the Phillies appear poised to compete for the World Series. According to FanDuel SportsBook, the Phillies had 10-1 chances on Monday to win the World Series in 2024.
The Phillies signed starter Aaron Nola to a seven-year, $172 million contract last month.
Phillies President Dave Dombrowski stated that the Phillies knew they intended to sign Thomson and simply needed to take care of other critical concerns, such as signing Nola, before approaching Thomson with an extension.
Thomson worked for the New York Yankees for 28 years (1990–2017), including 10 seasons as a major league bench coach (2008, 2015–17) and third base coach (2009–14).
The Phillies have hired Dustin Lind and Rafael Peña as assistant hitting coaches.
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