Rob Thomson Provides Steady Hand To Surging Philadelphia Phillies

Rob Thomson spent the first 37 1/3 years of his professional baseball going pretty much unnoticed.

He is the epitome of a baseball lifer, having spent nearly four decades in the professional ranks as a player, coach and manager. He never played in the major leagues and when he reached the big leagues with the New York Yankees as Joe Girardi’s bench coach in 2008 only baseball people and very hardcore fans knew of Thomson

However, Thomson has stepped into the spotlight this summer after taking over as the Philadelphia Philles’ interim manager June 3 when Girardi was fired. What the 58-year-old Canadian with the humble personality and quiet sense of humor has done with his opportunity has been nothing short of remarkable.

The Phillies have gone 38-19 under Thomson, a sizzling .667 clip, after stumbling and bumbling their way to 22-29 start under Girardi. Included is 10 wins in their 11 games.

That has given the Phillies hope they can reach the postseason for the first time since 2011, when they won the last of five consecutive National League East titles.

Winning the division could be a tall task as the Phillies are in third place, 9.5 games behind the first-place New York Mets. However, Philadelphia currently holds the second of three NL wild cards.

The Phillies are also in playoff position despite being without reigning NL Most Valuable Player Bryce Harper, who has been out since June 25 with a broken left thumb.

While the understated Thomson says it is the players who have turned the season around, they don’t understate the importance of their interim manager.

“He’s calm, cool and collected – he’s got a poise about him,” Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins said. “Nothing speeds up on him and I think when you have that in the driver’s seat it kind of wears off on the rest of your club.

“I’ve seen it late in game the last couple of weeks where maybe in the past things had sped up on us and they don’t speed up on us now. There are going to be a lot more of those moments as we go along, for sure, playing in a pennant race, but I think that’s what he’s provided.”

Girardi seemingly juggled the lineup every day and the relief pitchers rarely had set roles. However, Thomson has stuck pretty much to the same batting order and brought order to the bullpen.

And Thomson is the soothing presence the Phillies in the wake of Girardi, who could be uptight at times.

“He’s communicated extremely well,” Hoskins said. “Obviously, in his role as bench coach, that was not necessarily required of him but it’s nice to see that nothing has come as a surprise for him. We as players can prepare knowing what’s going to go on during the game and that puts us in a good position to succeed.”

Thomson acknowledges that being the manager is far different than being the bench coach. However, he feels he has bene able to make the transition rather seamlessly.

“Instead of being in front of a computer all day looking at the (opponent’s) tendencies and coming up with a kind of gameplan, I’m more involved with the players, communicating with them and gaining their trust and things like that,” Thomson said. “So, in that regard, it’s changed a little bit along with sort of being a conduit between our ballclub and the fans through the media is a big change for me.

“But it helps when you have a great group (of players) like we have. They have made the transition smooth.”

With his mild nature and Philadelphia sports fans’ deserved reputation of being some of the toughest in the country, Thomson might seem like an odd fit. However, Hoskins says Thomson is equipped to handle the pressure of manager in Philly.

“He’s got a wealth of baseball knowledge,” Hoskins said. “He’s been around the game 30-plus years. He’s done it in New York. He’s won in New York. Those things matter, especially in the Northeast.”