Thomson served as Girardi’s bench coach and third base coach for the entirety of his time managing the Yankees, and was Girardi’s bench coach in Philadelphia from 2019-2022.
It’s telling that on the day Joe Girardi lost his job as manager of the Phillies, he went to see Rob Thomson, the man who be would replacing him. Thomson served as Girardi’s bench coach and third base coach for the entirety of his time managing the Yankees, and was Girardi’s bench coach in Philadelphia from 2020-2022.
For Thomson, it was a bittersweet moment. He’d dreamed of being a big league manager since he was a young coach. He’d been a candidate for a few managerial openings over the years, but had never gotten the job. After a while, he stopped focusing on it, pouring his energy into being the best bench he could possibly be. He didn’t expect the opportunity he’d long been waiting for to come at the expense of his friend. But it did.
Thomson doesn’t have an easy task ahead of him. The Phillies are 22-29 and 12 games back in the division. They have one of the shakiest bullpens in baseball, and have long made costly defensive mistakes. One managerial firing is not going to change that. But the Phillies believe that a different voice was needed in the clubhouse, and that Thomson’s voice, specifically, is the one that can shake things up.
Fuld said that this wasn’t an easy decision. The front office had deliberations on which coach to choose for this role. Part of what gave Thomson the edge was his leadership skills and his steadying presence. “He came to us with a tremendous reputation as being highly attentive to detail, having a really brilliant baseball mind, having seen a lot coming up through player development. Being an excellent communicator. And being a humble, great teammate. And that was apparent right away. We saw that from the very beginning.