Getty

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 28: Don Mattingly, interim manager for the Philadelphia Phillies, reacts after a 7-0 win against the San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park on April 28, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

It would be human nature for Rob Thomson to root against the Philadelphia Phillies since they fired him in April.

Yet, Thomson is bucking that behavior.

The former Phillies manager shared his feelings about his ex-club with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and explained why he still watches the club and roots for their success under manager Don Mattingly.

Thomson was fired by boss Dave Dombrowski and GM Preston Mattingly on April 27 and replaced by Preston’s dad after the Phillies started 9-19. Philadelphia is 29-14 in its past 43 games and is locked into the No. 2 wild-card spot in the National League.

Rob Thomson is Still Supporting the Phillies

The Phillies are soaring since Thomson was let go, which would lead some fans and onlookers to think they had tuned out the veteran manager.

Some would be resentful at the club’s success without him. But Thomson isn’t some people.

“I watch every game that I can,” Thomson told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic in a text message. “When you have built relationships and been through the things that this group has been through, you don’t stop cheering for them. At least I don’t.

“I think that in a lot of situations where managers get fired, most wish that they had a little more time but (there are) no lingering frustrations. You can call it whatever you want, but the fact is that the team has been playing so much better since the change and they are back to who they are!!”

Thomson may understand better than most people, since he took over for his mentor Joe Girardi midyear as Phillies manager in 2022. The Phillies were 22-29 when Dombrowski fired Girardi and replaced him with Thomson, who managed the Phillies to the World Series before they lost to the Houston Astros.

Rob Thomson is Close With Don Mattingly

Rooting for the Phillies’ success may be easier for Thomson because his replacement was also one of his peers.

Thomson and Mattingly spent four seasons together with the New York Yankees, coaching alongside Joe Torre from 2004-07. Thomson stayed on when Torre was let go after the 2007 season and won the World Series with Girardi and the Yankees in 2009, ironically at the expense of the Phillies.

To his credit, Mattingly has put the onus on the Phillies players to turn things around. After all, Thomson has the best winning percentage of any Phillies manager (.568) in the past century and guided them to the postseason every season. It’s not as if that all went away in five months.

“I had two things going taking over: Talent and time,” Mattingly told Rosenthal. “We had over 130 games left. This team is going to get going, and if they don’t, something’s wrong. It’s not going to be the manager.”

Every player Rosenthal spoke with lamented Thomson’s firing. They all felt a turnaround was inevitable, though according to catcher J.T. Realmuto, the managerial move made it happen more swiftly.

“It’s unfortunate to see it happen, but it kind of kicked us in the rear, got us in gear,” Realmuto said. “I don’t think we wouldn’t have started playing that way if Rob had still been the manager. I think it was inevitable that we were going to start playing better.”