For all the star power the Phillies boast, their run to the World Series was anything but expected. The same can be said for the rise of their manager, Rob Thomson.
Thomson walked into spring training as a bench coach and will walk into Minute Maid Park on Friday night as the manager of the National League champions.
The even-keeled baseball lifer has received rave reviews from Phillies players since replacing Joe Girardi in June.
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Bryce Harper wore a shirt with Thomson's face that reads, "I ride with Philly Rob" in August. Rhys Hoskins said recently that Thomson "makes us remember why we chose to play this game in the first place," which is perhaps the best compliment a manager can receive.
“I ride with Philly Rob” (from Bryce Harper’s IG) pic.twitter.com/WO7jm8pWkc
— Alex Coffey (@byalexcoffey) August 30, 2022
Thomson's rise to pennant-winning manager isn't the most traditional, but it might remind fans of the journey last year's World Series-winning manager, the Braves' Brian Snitker, took to reach baseball's biggest stage.
Here's what you need to know about Rob Thomson:
When did Rob Thomson become Phillies manager?
Thomson was named the Phillies' interim manager when the team fired Joe Girardi on June 3. While it might have been a sentimental moment for Thomson, who also worked under Girardi with the Yankees, he took over a 22-29 Phillies team that needed to start winning quickly if it wanted to reach the postseason.
Despite missing Bryce Harper for a large portion of the season, the Phillies responded to the change and earned the NL's final postseason berth.
Thomson, who publicly praised by his players throughout the season, was named the Phillies' full-time manager on Oct. 10, two days after Philadelphia swept the Cardinals in the Wild Card Series.
MORE: Why the Phillies fired manager Girardi after just over two seasons
Thomson's coaching career began in the Tigers' minor league system in 1988. Two years later, he joined the Yankees' system as a minor league third base coach. Thomson jumped to the Yankees' front office in 1998, working his way up to director of player development before joining the team's major league staff in 2008.
Over the next decade, he spent time as a bench coach and third base coach under Girardi. After the Yankees fired Girardi in 2017, Gabe Kapler hired Thomson to be the bench coach in Philadelphia.
Thomson survived Kapler's firing thanks the Phillies' decision to hire Girardi, who kept the baseball lifer on staff as bench coach. With Girardi out of the picture, Thomson finally got his chance.
"I keep walking out of my apartment every day, crossing the street and thinking a bus is going to hit me or something,” Thomson recently told MLB.com, expressing shock that his ascent has happened so quickly.
How old is Rob Thomson?
Thomson was born Aug. 16, 1963. He is 59 years old. He's the eighth-oldest active MLB manager, part of a recent uptick in veteran managerial hires.
In the 2022 World Series, however, Thomson is decisively younger than Astros manager Dusty Baker, who is the oldest active manager in the league at 73.
What is Rob Thomson's managerial record?
Thomson went 65-46 as manager of the Phillies after Girardi's firing. He enters the World Series with a 9-2 record in the postseason.
The Phillies were 22-29 when Thomson took the reins, but they played at a 95-win pace after the change and have carried that momentum into October.
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While Thomson has a lifetime of experience around baseball, his experience as a major league manager is vastly different than Baker's. Baker has managed 3,884 regular-season games while Thomson has managed just 111.
Did Rob Thomson play in the major leagues?
Thomson did not appear in a major league game. He spent time in the Tigers' minor league system as a catcher but never got past Single-A Lakeland. Detroit drafted him in the 32nd round in 1985 after a college career that began in Thomson's native Canada — he was born in Sarnia, Ont., northeast of Detroit — and ended at the University of Kansas,
After appearing in two games for Lakeland in 1988, Thomson quickly jumped into the coaching ranks in the Tigers' system.
