PHILADELPHIA – Canadian coach Rob Thomson will be acting as Philadelphia’s interim coach for the remainder of the season after the struggling team fired Joe Girardi on Friday.
Girardi is the first major league coach to lose his job this season, paying the price for his team’s terrible start.
They are expected to fight for an NL East title, the Phillies are 22-29 and 12 games behind the top-ranked New York Mets.
“It’s been a frustrating season for us so far, as we believe our club has not lived up to its capabilities,” Phillies baseball operations president Dave Dombrowski said in a statement. . “Although we all share the responsibility for the shortcomings, I felt that a change was needed and that a new voice in the clubhouse would give us the best opportunity to change things. I think we have a talented group that can return to the track, and I’m sure Rob, with his experience and familiarity with our club, is the right man to lead us forward. “
Born in Sarnia, Ontario, and raised in nearby Corunna, Ontario, Thomson has been the Philadelphia bench coach and has been coordinating spring training for the past five seasons. He was hired before the 2018 season.
“I’m willing to lead this team and I’m looking forward to getting to work and changing that,” he said.
His first game is against a Los Angeles team that has lost eight games in a row overall and six in a row as a visitor.
“As a bench coach, you’re spending a lot of time preparing for the other club and probably not so much at the clubhouse,” Thomson said. “I’m going to take my hat off to the coach. I’ll still be ready, but I’ll have the confidence of the coaches around me to keep me informed.
“Now I can go out to the club and really communicate with the players, get to know them, feel them, know what they like, know what they don’t like, know when they’re hurt, know when they’re hurt. Don’t get hurt, so that they know that I have my back to them and that I support them ”.
Thomson is the first Canadian full-time coach since George Gibson of London, Ontario, led the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1934. Toronto’s Arthur Irwin, who led five teams between 1889 and 1899, is the only Canadian to he worked as a full-time player. manager.
“It’s great. Rob is at our Hall of Fame in 2019, and he’s always wanted to manage in the big leagues and now he has a great opportunity with a talented team,” said Scott Crawford, director of operations at Canadian. Baseball Hall of Fame.
“Thomson has done that in the past, when Joe Girardi was out or sent off. Of course, (former Toronto receiver) Russell Martin managed the last game of the season in 2018 for the Blue Jays, but this was just a .- Off special game.
“But Thomson is the first full-time Canadian coach since 1934, when Gibson ended the Pirates.”
The Phillies have lost 12 of their 17 games ahead of the start of Friday’s three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels.
“We’ve had a poor performance and that’s up to me. That’s what’s happening,” Girardi told SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio. “I think there’s more talent in this room than the way we’ve played.”
The Phillies have a $ 224 million payroll and feature 2021 NL MVP Bryce Harper and NL Cy Young Award runner-up Zack Wheeler Aaron Nola, All-Star receiver JT Realmuto and free agent hitters Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber. However, Philadelphia has not reached the playoffs since 2011, has not won the World Series since 2008, and has seen fans plummet for another decade of mediocre baseball.
Harper has suffered most of the season with pain in his right forearm and was forced to give up the right field and play the designated hitter. Second baseman Jean Segura is out for up to three months with a fractured right index finger. The Phillies have 12-15 at home and 4-10 in one-run games. They are 3-7 in their last 10 games.
“I think realistically we should have been 7-3. Well, that’s going to fall for me because we weren’t,” Girardi said. “I just pray they get better and get to the playoffs.”
The Phillies ended up with a dropped bullpen, defensive deficiencies, and slow starts from some of their high-priced veterans (Schwarber baptizes .192). The dim light was a May 5 loss at home to the New York Mets when they jumped a six-run deficit in the ninth inning and lost 8-7. The Mets had lost the previous 330 times by six runs in the ninth.
“I think there are several reasons why we didn’t win. We gave too many extra outs that cost us four or five games, maybe even more,” Girardi said.
Girardi replaced Yankees coach Joe Torre after the 2007 season and spent a decade in the running. Girardi led New York to his 27th World Series title, beating the Phillies in six games in 2009, and his 910 wins were the team’s sixth longest.
Girardi said last week that the season was “frustrating” but that he didn’t care about losing his job. Girardi, however, probably had to make it to the playoffs this season after the Phillies turned down his 2023 pick.
“I have never been worried about my job. I don’t care about my job. I have to do my job, “Girardi said.” It’s the business of being a manager. “
Thomson began coaching in 1998, spending two seasons as a minor league coach in the Tigers system before joining the New York Yankees in 1990.
He joined the Yankees major league team as a special duties instructor in 2004 and was promoted to bench coach with Girardi in 2008. He led three games in Girardi’s absence that season, becoming the first Canadian to manage a major league game from Gibson.
Thomson coached the Yankees third baseman between 2009 and 2014 before returning to his role as a bench coach.
As a player, the receiver / third baseman was selected by the Detroit Tigers in 1985 and competed at the A-Class level. He was part of the team that represented Canada at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Philadelphia’s struggles go far beyond Girardi’s. Gabe Kapler was fired after a 161-163 record in two seasons and then led the San Francisco Giants to a 107-55 record and the playoffs last season.
The Phillies also fired assistant coach Bobby Meacham and promoted Mike Calitri to bench coach.
– With archives of The Canadian Press
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