The Philadelphia Phillies were drowning. A 9-19 start had fans booing, pundits writing obituaries, and the front office reaching for the eject button. On May 1, they fired manager Rob Thomson. Since then, the Phillies have gone 29-14, clawed back to 38-33, and sit firmly in Wild Card territory.
But here’s the part that might make you do a double take: Thomson is watching. And he’s cheering.
In a text exchange with The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the former skipper made it clear he hasn’t turned his back on the organization that cut him loose just weeks into the season.
“I watch every game that I can,” Thomson wrote. “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.”
For a manager who lost his job while the team was still in April, that kind of grace is rare. But Thomson’s response wasn’t just polite — it was honest. He acknowledged the obvious disconnect between his tenure and the team’s recent surge.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
Before the change, Philadelphia looked broken. The offense was cold. The bullpen was leaking. And the energy around the clubhouse felt flat. After Thomson’s dismissal, the Phillies went on a tear. They’ve won series against division leaders, got key arms healthy, and started playing like the team that reached the NLCS in three of the last four years.
Thomson’s first season with the Phillies ended in a National League pennant. That’s the kind of start that buys you goodwill. But back-to-back NLDS exits in 2023 and 2024 — both by 3-1 margins — raised questions. Could he get them over the hump? When April turned into a disaster in 2025, the front office decided they couldn’t wait to find out.
No Hard Feelings — At Least Not Really
“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,” Thomson continued in his text. “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!!”
The double exclamation marks say more than any press conference could. Thomson isn’t bitter. He’s a fan now. A former coach with a front-row seat to the team he built turning into the team he hoped they’d be.
That kind of self-awareness is rare in professional sports. Most fired managers fade into the shadows, quietly hoping for a redemption arc that never comes. Thomson chose a different path: he stayed connected, stayed engaged, and kept rooting for the guys in the other dugout — even if that dugout no longer belongs to him.
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