Phillies Fire Thomson After 9-19 Start; Name Mattingly Interim Manager

(Former Phillies manager Rob Thomson (l) and Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly (r))

It is really tough being a baseball manager. Just ask Alex Cora who, along with most of his coaches, was abruptly fired as manager of the Boston Red Sox a mere 72 hours ago.

Now Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson has joined Cora on the unemployment line. Of course, Thomson took over a struggling Phillies club in 2022 after Joe Girardi was dismissed with a record of 22-29. All Thomson did was to lead the Phillies to a NL pennant and then three additional post-season appearances including back-to-back NL East titles.

The Phillies extended Thomson's contract through the end of the 2027 season in December 2025.

That was just over four months ago, and Thomson would not survive the month of April.

Being a baseball manager is a tough job because it doesn't take much to lose it. All your success doesn't amount to hill of beans if you hit the skids for a few weeks.

It was speculated that Cora might be in line to succeed Thomson given his connection to Phillies President Dave Dombrowski. However, Cora turned down the job.

Instead, the Phillies looked down the dugout and named bench coach Don Mattingly as the interim manager. Mattingly was hired by the Phillies back in January after spending two seasons as the bench coach for the defending AL champion Toronto Blue Jays. Of course, Mattingly managed in the big leagues for 12 seasons - five with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2011-2015) and seven with the Miami Marlins (2016-2022). Mattingly went to the post-season with the Dodgers thrice between 2013-2015 getting as far as the NLCS in 2013 in which they fell to the St. Louis Cardinals. During his tenure with the Marlins, Mattingly reached the post-season during the COVID shortened 2020 season. Yet some are calling it "nepotism" on the grounds that Mattingly's son Preston is the Phillies GM.

Should the Phillies turn it around and get into the post-season, no one will care about the father-son manager/GM relationship especially if the Phillies win their first World Series title since 2008 which would be Mattingly's first ever ring anywhere. On the other hand, if the Phillies continue to play terribly then people will feel sorry for Rob Thomson who after four years of success was let go during the first sign of trouble.

With this in mind, one wonders of the fate of New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza whose team enters tonight with an identical 9-19 record. In some ways, it is surprising that Mendoza has hung on longer than Thompson. Aside from a 12-game losing streak this season, the Mets have been struggling since last July after owning the best record in MLB. It is astonishing there is more patience in New York than in Philadelphia and, for that matter, Boston.

Then again, Phillies fans would boo both Santa and a child struggling during an Easter Egg hunt. 

Rob Thomson never stood a chance.