The Phillies have relieved Joe Girardi of his duties as manager today. Bench coach Rob Thomson has been named interim manager for the club through the end of the 2022 season. In addition, coaching assistant Bobby Meacham was also relieved of his duties. Quality assurance coach Mike Calitri, who has been with the organization since the 2018 season, has been promoted to bench coach on the Phillies’ major league staff. Phillies President of Baseball Operations David Dombrowski announced the changes today.
“It has been a frustrating season for us up until this point, as we feel that our club has not played up to its capabilities,” said Dombrowski. “While all of us 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 chance to turn things around. I believe we have a talented group that can get back on track, and I am confident that Rob, with his experience and familiarity with our club, is the right man to lead us going forward.”
Thomson, who becomes the 56th manager in franchise history, has served as the club’s bench coach while also coordinating spring training for the last five seasons after being originally hired on Dec. 5, 2017. This year marks Thomson’s 38th season in professional baseball.
“I am extremely excited for this opportunity and I appreciate the confidence Dave has shown in me,” said Thomson. “Having said that, this is an emotional day for me, having worked so closely with Joe for so many years. This has been my home now for the last five years and I care deeply about this franchise, this city, our players, our coaches, our staff and our fans. I am ready to lead this team and look forward to getting to work and turning this around.”
Thomson previously spent 28 years in the New York Yankees organization from 1990-2017, which included 10 seasons on New York’s major league coaching staff as bench coach (2008, 2015-17) and third base coach (2009-14). Prior to his time with the Yankees, he spent two seasons (1988-89) as a coach in the Detroit Tigers minor league system.
Originally drafted by the Tigers in the 32nd round of the June 1985 draft, Thomson played professionally for four seasons in Detroit’s minor league system, appearing in 136 games at catcher, 55 games at third base, four games at first base and one game each at second base and pitcher. Thomson, who was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019, was born in Stratford, Ontario, Canada.
Hired prior to the 2020 season, Girardi managed the Phillies for two-plus years and went 132-141. Over his 14 seasons as a major league manager with the Florida Marlins (2006), New York Yankees (2008-17) and Phillies (2020-22), Girardi is 1120-935.
