Despite success, Thomson dealing with expectations and impatience originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Mets had just finished blowing the Phillies out of the water in the NLDS last autumn. Chewed them up and spit them out. Kicked them to the curb. Pick the cliché of your choice.
That wasn’t how the season, openly advertised as a World-Series-or-Bust proposition, was supposed to end. Not even close. So it wasn’t surprising that, on the postgame drive back to Philadelphia that night, at the point on the New Jersey Turnpike where the local sports talk radio stations fade into range, the callers’ sentiments came through loud and clear even before the static faded and the signal strengthened.
But was their bile directed at the ballyhooed, decorated and expensive lineup that batted .186, eked out 12 run and whiffed 38 times in four games? Not so much, except for a general consensus that Trea Turner must go. (And never mind the nine years and more than $245 million remaining on his contract.)
Or was the bullpen’s 11.37 ERA targeted for outrage? Uh, not really.
The real culprit, at least according to the vox populi, was a guy who didn’t have a single at-bat or throw even one pitch: Rob Thomson.
The manager left his starting pitchers in too long. Except for the times he went to the bullpen too early. His lineup construction was all wrong. He didn’t play enough small ball. In a way, it’s comforting to know that even as baseball changes dramatically, scapegoating the manager remains the default cure-all for everything that goes wrong when a ballclub falls short of expectations.
Hey, doesn’t the Constitution guarantee life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and the right to second-guess the manager?
So will Thomson be on the hot seat when the new season opens March 27 at Nationals Park?
That may seem like an odd question considering that he’s one of only three managers, along with Dave Roberts of the Dodgers and Brian Snitker of the Braves, to take his team to the playoffs each of the last three years. Preposterous, even. The Phillies won 95 games last year; only the eventual World Champion Dodgers won more.
But, you know. Baseball …
The inner workings of the Phillies’ front office are opaque and owner John Middleton has never hidden his desire — and impatience — to win. There’s no way of really knowing how significant it is that the organization has cautiously extended his contract for only one year after each of the last two seasons, just enough of a commitment to keep him from being a lame duck. The payroll remains one of the highest in baseball.
After checking out of the postseason during the World Series in 2022, the LCS in 2023 and the LDS in 2024, it’s possible that another disappointing October could convince the Big Cigars down at One Phillies Way that a change needs to be made, especially if it’s perceived that Thomson has become a lightning rod for fan discontent. He certainly wouldn’t be the first manager or general manager sacrificed with an eye toward ticket sales.
During a spring training conversation in his BayCare Ballpark office after an early exhibition game, Thomson gave no indication that he spends even a moment worrying about his job security. He said he’s more than satisfied with one-year extensions.
Much of that equanimity can be attributed to the fact that he sees himself as being in the bonus round of life. It’s well known that he was planning to retire at the end of the 2022 season, before he was promoted from bench coach to manager, replacing Joe Girardi. The team immediately responded to his more relaxed approach. He has said repeatedly that he wants to continue as long as he’s still having fun.
“And I’m really having fun,” he said in his office. “We have a great group of guys. I just love every one of them. I get up in the morning and I can’t wait to go to the ballpark and be around them. And we have a bunch of guys coming, too, with the (Aidan) Millers and the (Justin) Crawfords and those guys.
“So I don’t know, as long as I’m having fun and as long as they want me and we’re successful …”
There’s an X-factor, too. Thomson is 61 years old. He’s lived the gypsy baseball life for 40 years. He has a wife, Michele, and two daughters, Jacqueline and Christina. “I made a promise to my wife years ago that I’m not going to be in the game for my entire life,” he said. “We’re going to somehow reap the benefits of what we’ve earned over the course of time. My family has given up a lot for me to be in this business, and I want to pay them back a little bit.”
The outside world has no idea how much input the manager has for the names on the card that are handed to the umpire before every game. Some are believed to have a lot. Some, it’s suspected, have very little. Where Thomson sits on that spectrum is unknown outside the Phillies bunker. Ditto for a lot of the in-game decisions which can be influenced, or even dictated, by analytics.
The real trick is being able to juggle the egos and personalities, to set the proper clubhouse tone. That’s what separates the managers who get everything out of the talent they have to work with and those who don’t. All indications are that Thomson excels at this aspect of the game.
“One of the biggest things is not to lose the clubhouse,” he said. “Because once the manager loses the clubhouse then you’re probably close to being done.”
Thomson always wears a coat and tie on team flights. Players tend to wear more casual attire. But on a Father’s Day trip to Texas shortly after he took over, everybody in the traveling party surprised him by also dressing up for the charter.
Bryce Harper gave his seal of approval by posting a group photo on Instagram. A framed copy hangs in Thomson’s office at Citizens Bank Park.
Note to Phillies fans who think the team would be better off with another manager. Be careful what you wish for.
