| Rob Thomson | |
|---|---|
 Thomson as the Yankees’ bench coach in 2017 | |
| Philadelphia Phillies – No. 49 | |
| Manager | |
| Born: (1963-08-16)August 16, 1963 (age 62) Sarnia, Ontario, Canada | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB statistics (through September 28, 2025) | |
| Managerial record | 346–251 |
| Winning % | .578 |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Member of the Canadian | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2019 |
Robert Lewis Thomson (born August 16, 1963), nicknamed "Topper", is a Canadian professionalbaseballmanager for thePhiladelphia Phillies ofMajor League Baseball (MLB).
During Thomson's playing career, he was acatcher andthird baseman in theDetroit Tigers organization from 1985 to 1988. Following his years as a player, Thomson spent one year as the manager of the Class AOneonta Yankees, and several more years in various front office capacities for theNew York Yankees organization. He then served as the Yankees’ bench coach in 2008,third base coach from 2009 to 2014, and bench coach again from 2015 to 2017.
In 2018, Thomson was hired as the bench coach of thePhiladelphia Phillies. On June 3, 2022, Thomson was named interim manager of the Philadelphia Phillies following the firing of managerJoe Girardi. After leading the Phillies to their first postseason appearance since 2011, Thomson was named the full-time manager on October 10, 2022. That year, he went on to lead the Phillies to their firstNational League pennant since 2009. Thomson has led the Phillies to four postseason appearances and twoNational League East titles in his four seasons with the team.
Thomson was born on August 16, 1963, inSarnia, Ontario, and grew up in nearbyCorunna, Ontario.[1] He grew up playing baseball in the summers and hockey in the winter.[2] Thomson has a younger sister and two older brothers, one of whom signed with theMontreal Expos.[2]
Thomson was a standout for theStratford Nationals of theIntercounty Baseball League.[3] From there, he was recruited toSt. Clair County Community College where he played baseball for one year.[3] After a year, he transferred to theUniversity of Kansas.[3][2] Thomson led the Jayhawks in hits in 1984 and 1985 and holds the school record for the highest single-season batting average.[2]
Thomson was selected by theDetroit Tigers in the 32nd round of the1985 Major League Baseball draft from the University of Kansas. He playedcatcher andthird base in the Tigers' minor league system until 1988, reaching as high as Class A.[1] In 661 at bats, he hit .225/.312/.304 with seven home runs and three steals.[1] He played 136 games atcatcher, 55 games atthird base, and pitched in one game.[1]
Thomson representedCanada in baseball, which was a demonstration sport, in the1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
From 1988 to 1990, Thomson served as a minor league coach in theDetroit Tigers organization.[3] Thomson says he got into coaching because "I wasn’t a good enough player. The game sort of forced me into coaching. I was lucky enough the Tigers thought enough of me as an evaluator, teacher and an organizer to offer me a coaching position."[2]
In 1990, Thomson joined theNew York Yankees organization as athird base coach for the team's Class A affiliate, theOneonta Yankees, eventually becoming the manager in 1995. He moved into thefront office in 1998 as a Field Coordinator, and became Director of Player Development in 2000. Prior to the 2003 season, he was named Vice President of Minor League Development, and was named to the Yankees major league coaching staff in November of the same year.
During the1994–95 MLB strike, Thomson managed theCanberra Bushrangers of the originalAustralian Baseball League.[4]
On September 27, 2006, Thomson took over asfirst base coach of the Yankees in place ofTony Peña, who had learned before the game his father had died, then filled in at the position for four games before Peña returned in time for the season finale on October 1.
Prior to the 2008 season, incoming managerJoe Girardi named Thomson hisbench coach.[5] On April 4, 2008, Girardi became ill due to arespiratory infection and designated Thomson to manage that night's game against theTampa Bay Rays.[6][7] It was Thomson's first major league game as a manager, at which he became the first Canadian to manage a major league game sinceGeorge Gibson for thePittsburgh Pirates in 1934.[8][6] Thomson would also manage the April 5 game due to Girardi's illness.[9][10]
Thomson served as the team's third base coach for six seasons and was a member of the coaching staff for the Yankees'2009 championship team. Prior to the 2015 season, Thomson was named the team's bench coach, which was a role he held until the end of the 2017 season.[11]
Thomson developed his nickname of "Topper" during his time with the Yankees. For five seasons, Thomson ran the Yankees' spring training camp.Joe Torre, the Yankees' manager at the time, nicknamed Thomson "Topper", because he "was always on top of everything" while running the camp.[12]
Following the 2017 season, the Yankees parted ways with manager Joe Girardi. Thomson was initially a candidate to fill the role, but the team ultimately hiredAaron Boone as manager instead.[13] On December 5, 2017, after 28 seasons with the organization, Thomson left the Yankees and was hired as the bench coach for thePhiladelphia Phillies, joining the staff under first-year managerGabe Kapler.[14] After the 2019 season, the Phillies fired Kapler, but Thomson remained the Phillies’ bench coach. The Phillies would ultimately hire Joe Girardi as their new manager, reuniting Thomson with his former manager from the Yankees.[14]
Prior to the 2022 season, Thomson had stated to the team that it would be his last as a bench coach, intending to retire after the completion of the season.[15] However, on June 3, 2022, the Phillies fired manager Joe Girardi after a disappointing 22–29 start to the season.[14] The same day, Thomson was named the Phillies’ interim manager.[14] Under Thomson, the Phillies' season quickly turned around. The Phillies won their first game under Thomson, blanking theLos Angeles Angels 10–0, and then won 13 of their next 15 games and moved back into playoff contention.
With his appointment as interim manager, Thomson became the first Canadian to manage a major league team sinceGeorge Gibson managed thePittsburgh Pirates in 1934.[16] On July 12, 2022, Thomson managed a game against theToronto Blue Jays at theRogers Centre, becoming the first Canadian to manage a major league game in Canada.[16]
Thomson finished the 2022 regular season with a 65–46 record as interim manager, leading the Phillies to an 87–75 record and a wild card berth, their first postseason appearance since2011. Thomson became the fourth interim manager in MLB history to take over a team at least seven games under .500 and lead them to the postseason.[17] In theWild Card Series, the Phillies would sweep the NL Central-championSt. Louis Cardinals, giving the team their first playoff series win since2010. Following the Wild Card Series win, the Phillies removed Thomson's interim tag and officially named him the 55th manager in franchise history, with a two-year contract.[18] In theNational League Division Series, the Phillies pulled off another upset, defeating the NL East-championAtlanta Braves 3–1 to advance to theNational League Championship Series.[19] In the NLCS, the Phillies defeated theSan Diego Padres in five games to win their first league pennant since2009. Thomson became the first manager to lead their team to the World Series after taking over during the season sinceJack McKeon with theFlorida Marlins in 2003.[20] In theWorld Series, the Phillies would play theHouston Astros, however, despite taking a 2–1 series lead, the Astros would defeat the Phillies in six games. Thomson received criticism for his managerial decisions in Game 6 of the series, as in the sixth inning, with the Phillies leading 1–0, Thomson pulled starting pitcherZack Wheeler after 70 pitches and replaced him with relieverJosé Alvarado, who would go on to give up a go-ahead home run toYordan Alvarez. The Astros would go on to defeat the Phillies 4–1 and clinch the series victory. Analysts noted the similarity of Thomson's decision toTampa Bay Rays managerKevin Cash's decision to pull starterBlake Snell in Game 6 of the2020 World Series.[21]
On June 15, 2023, Thomson earned his 100th win as a manager with a 5–4 Phillies victory over theArizona Diamondbacks. After another slow start to the season, Thomson led the Phillies to a 90–72 record and a second-straight wild card berth. In theWild Card Series, the Phillies swept theMiami Marlins before meeting the Atlanta Braves in theNational League Division Series. For the second-straight year, the Phillies upset the Braves in four games, advancing to theNational League Championship Series. In the NLCS against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Phillies quickly took a 2–0 series lead, but were unable to advance to the World Series for the second-straight season after losing four of the next five games in the series. Thomson received criticism for the Phillies' collapse, with some noting Thomson's use of relieverCraig Kimbrel in Game 4 as a turning point in the series. In the previous game, Kimbrel had given up the walk-off hit in a 24-pitch outing, and in Game 4, Thomson brought Kimbrel in again for the eighth inning, where he gave up a game-tying home run toAlek Thomas. The Diamondbacks would end up winning the game 6–5, evening the series at 2–2.[22] While the Phillies did win Game 5 to take a 3–2 series lead back to Philadelphia,[23] they lost both Games 6 and 7 to lose the NLCS.[24]
In 2024, the Phillies achieved a 95–67 record en route to their first NL East division title since 2011, but were eliminated in the2024 National League Division Series by theNew York Mets in four games.[25] On October 15, 2024, Thomson and the Phillies agreed to a contract extension running through the 2026 season.[26][27]
In 2025, Thomson led the Phillies to a 96-66 record. Sucessfully defending the NL East division title and acheiving the bye into the2025 National League Division Series. The Phillies would be eliminated by theLos Angeles Dodgers marking back-to-back years the Phillies were eliminated in the Division Series.[28] Thomson took heat following the Phillies’ loss to the Dodgers in the NL Division Series. A few in-game moves backfired, including his decision to haveBryson Stott bunt with the potential tying run on second base and no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 2. Afterwards, Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski stated at the end of season press conference that he intends to extend Thomson through the 2027 season.[29]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| PHI | 2022 | 111 | 65 | 46 | .586 | 3rd in NL East | 11 | 6 | .647 | LostWorld Series (HOU) |
| PHI | 2023 | 162 | 90 | 72 | .556 | 2nd in NL East | 8 | 5 | .615 | LostNLCS (AZ) |
| PHI | 2024 | 162 | 95 | 67 | .586 | 1st in NL East | 1 | 3 | .250 | LostNLDS (NYM) |
| PHI | 2025 | 162 | 96 | 66 | .599 | 1st in NL East | 1 | 3 | .250 | LostNLDS (LAD) |
| Total | 587 | 346 | 251 | .580 | 21 | 17 | .553 | |||
Thomson lives inStratford, Ontario, with his wife, Michele.[16] In the past, Thomson lived inTampa, Florida andNew York City.[2] He has two daughters.[2]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | New York Yankees Third Base Coach 2009–2014 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | New York Yankees Bench Coach 2015–2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Philadelphia Phillies Bench Coach 2018–2022 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Philadelphia Phillies Manager 2022–present | Succeeded by incumbent |
