ARLINGTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 08: Manager Rob Thomson #49 of the Philadelphia Phillies looks on prior to the game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on August 08, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
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The Philadelphia Phillies got off to a poor start after re-signing Kyle Schwarber and JT Realmuto to return with essentially the same veteran core that disappointed in two straight playoff berths.
But then the team made a significant change at the helm and that seemed to unlock some improvement.
“One month into the Don Mattingly era, a lot has gone right for the Phillies,” Cole Weintraub noted for NBC Sports Philadelphia. “They are winning behind high-end starting pitching, timely hitting and enough power to make up for an offense that still has real holes. Under Mattingly, they are 20-8. Tuesday marked the one-third point of the season, a fair checkpoint for any team that expects to contend.”
After earning a sweep over the San Diego Padres, the Phillies are just one game back in the National League Wild Card race and sit in second place in the National League East division.
ForbesPhillies Cut Former Cubs Shortstop After Just 35 Games
But the manager who was cast aside to make room for Mattingly seems to be making the most of the change as well.
“Former Jayhawk and former Phillies manager Rob Thomson with (Kansas men’s baseball coach) Dan Fitzgerald at practice today,” the Lawrence Journal-World’s Henry Greenstein reported via X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday.
Thomson, who was born in Ontario, Canada, played for the University of Kansas Jayhawks in the 1980s, leading the team in hits in the 1984 and 1985 seasons and retaining the school’s record for the highest single-season batting average.
Kansas is hosting the NCAA baseball regional for the first time in school history on Friday and Thomson paid a visit to the team during batting practice, evidently sharing some of the wisdom he accrued as a former player and coach with the New York Yankees, as well as a manager of some of the best players in the sport with the Phillies.
ForbesPhillies Cut Former Cubs Shortstop After Just 35 GamesBy Peter Chawaga“There’s going to be a whole bunch of former players here this weekend and so many of us dreamt of getting to this regional, winning the Big 12 and never got to,” Thomson explained from the practice on Thursday, per WIBW’s Andrew Lind. “I’m so happy for them, so proud of them, I just wish them all the best and we’re just here to support.”
When addressing the media after news that he was fired by the Phillies emerged, Thomson indicated that he wasn’t sure what he would do next. But now that his alma mater is hosting a historic double-elimination portion of the Men’s College World Series tournament, it seems he found something worthwhile to occupy part of his newly cleared schedule.
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