Corunna-native Rob Thomson will be wearing the red pinstripes for at least a few more seasons.
The Philadelphia Phillies announced on Tuesday that they have extended their manager's contract again. The latest extension will take him through the 2027 season, and comes after Thomson led the Phillies to four consecutive playoff appearances since becoming manager in 2022.
Thomson became interim manager in June of 2022 when the club fired Joe Girardi. He later had the "interim" dropped from his title after leading the team to a National League championship, but fell to Houston in the World Series. Since then, the Phillies have had three 90+ win seasons and two National League East division titles.
The 62-year-old Thomson had actually intended to retire at the end of the 2022 season, but put off retirement after being named manager of the Phillies.
Thomson's professional baseball career began in 1985, when he was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 32nd round of the Major League Baseball draft. After four years playing in the Tigers' minor league system, he switched to coaching. He coached in the Tigers' system for two seasons, before joining the New York Yankees organization. Thomson served in several positions with the Yankees, including manager of the Yankees single A affiliate, Director of Player Development, and Vice President of Minor League Development before joining the Yankees' major league coaching staff. With the Yankees, he served as third base coach and was named bench coach in 2015. He held that position until the end of the 2017 season, when he joined the Phillies as bench coach for then manager Gabe Kapler. When Kapler was fired after the 2019 season, Thomson would be reunited with Joe Girardi, for whom he served as bench coach in New York, ultimately becoming manager when the Phillies fired Girardi.
Thomson was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019.
