For the second consecutive year the Philadelphia Phillies extended their manager's contract. The Phillies announced a one-year extension for manager Rob Thomson on Monday, tying him to the franchise through the 2025 season.
Thomson took over as interim manager in June 2022 and was named to the position full-time in October, signing a two-year deal with the Phillies. It came during Philadelphia's improbable playoff run that saw them reach the World Series as the lowest seed in the National League.
With expectations higher in 2023, the Phillies topped their record from the prior season in Thomson's first full year in charge. Philadelphia won 90 games for the first time since 2011 and clinched a playoff berth for the second consecutive season, this time as the fourth seed in the NL.
The Phillies steamrolled through their first two playoff series and looked destined for another Fall Classic. Philadelphia then lost four of its last five games to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS, ending another impressive postseason run shy of a World Series title.
Thomson brings back winning culture to Phillies
It is incredible to see the difference two years make for Rob Thomson and the Phillies. The 60-year-old decided before the 2022 season that it would be his last as a coach. Less than two years later he has a year and a half of managing in the MLB under his belt and is under contract for two more.
Few coaches/managers connected with their city as quickly as Thomson did. Though he'd been with the Phillies as their bench coach since 2018, Thomson's popularity in Philadelphia soared when he started to pull the strings. His blue-collar hard-working mentality resonated with the city and made him a fan-favorite.
Of course, the winning helps too and the Phillies have done plenty of that with Thomson at the helm. Philadelphia is 155-118 since Thomson took over with a 19-11 record in the playoffs and one National League pennant. They have yet to win the big one, but that is a possibility within the next two seasons.
Thomson is almost the perfect manager for the Phillies, a team full of different personalities that all mesh so well together. His even-keeled, steady-minded approach is a good complement to the way the Phillies like to play.
Philadelphia was a little more wound-tight when Joe Girardi was in charge. The same can’t be said with Thomson pushing the buttons as many would argue the Phillies were the most exciting team to watch in each of the last two postseasons.
Rob Thomson didn’t become an MLB manager until his 19th season as a major league coach. He's now tasked with trying to bring a championship to a city that's witnessed several heartbreaking losses over the last 14 months.
It would be a head-scratcher for the Phillies to let Thomson play out the final year of his contract, but we've seen stranger things happen in baseball. Philadelphia trusts the man nicknamed “Topper” though and showed as such by extending his relationship with the franchise another season.
Financial details of the extension were not released by the Phillies.
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