Rob Thomson reflects on the most fun four years of his baseball life: ‘This has been just fabulous’

LOS ANGELES — With a towel over his shoulder and beer in his full head of hair, Rob Thomson reflected on an unexpected journey that has changed his life.

The 62-year-old Phillies manager was thrown into the fire in June 2022, tasked with turning around a struggling franchise buried in the pressure that comes with an 11-year postseason drought. He began the year content with retiring at the end of it.

A former minor league catcher in the Detroit Tigers system, Thomson has lived a proper baseball life. In the same stadium where his club clinched a second straight division title on Monday night, Thomson represented Canada as a 21-year-old in the 1984 Summer Olympics. “He was a glue guy,” one of his old Olympics teammates said this year. “Everybody likes the guy.”

His dreams of making the big leagues as a player ended in 1987 in A-ball when a collision at the plate with Brian McRae destroyed his shoulder. He began coaching a year later, moved to the Yankees organization in 1990 and rose to farm director by 2000. Thomson won the World Series in 2009 as a third-base coach. He was promoted to bench coach for a second time in 2015, but moved on at the end of 2017 when the Phillies made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Thomson is the fourth manager in major league history to make the postseason in his first four seasons in charge.

“Being in charge isn’t that much fun,” Thomson joked.

But Thomson has found fulfillment in what will be his last job in baseball.

“The last four years have been the most fun I’ve had in my 40 years in baseball,” Thomson said. “And I can tell you that truthfully. This year’s been special because we’ve had some guys go down. Losing a guy like (Zack) Wheeler could really affect a team. And it didn’t with these guys. And that’s a big loss, no doubt about it, but they just kept grinding, kept fighting and kept moving forward.”

As Thomson spoke in the visiting manager’s office at Dodger Stadium, his players sprayed champagne and drank beer out of a funnel in a tight clubhouse.

Why is it all so much fun?

“It’s because of the guys,” Thomson said.

The group has evolved over the years, but a few constants remain.

Kyle Schwarber’s arrival in 2022, as well as Thomson’s promotion, coincides with the Phillies’ revival. Schwarber’s presence beyond this year is not guaranteed, but it’s been quite a ride so far for the slugger putting up MVP caliber numbers. “Keeping that great feeling” is the goal heading into October.

“We should be proud of the baseball we’ve played the last three-and-a-half years,” Schwarber said. “Making the playoffs isn’t easy. Playing meaningful baseball in September, that’s not easy. … I feel like when you bring something that means a lot to a fanbase and organization, that shouldn’t be taken for granted.”

The bar is much higher now than it was when Schwarber arrived and Thomson became manager. Getting to October was the holy grail three years ago. The Phillies in 2025 mathematically clinched a postseason berth as they were waiting for their plane to take off for Los Angeles. Even with the group all together, the Phillies waited until the division was clinched to have a toast.

Did Thomson expect to have this much fun — and this much success — when he agreed to his dream job in 2022?

“No. I didn’t know what to expect when I took the job, to tell you the truth,” Thomson said. “This has been just fabulous.”