When Rob Thomson of Sarnia, Ontario was named the Philadelphia Phillies manager on June 3, the Phillies were seven games below the .500 mark at 22 wins and 29 losses. The franchise was in disarray after having a lot of pre-season hopes and aspirations.
Now, four months later, there is a lot of excitement around the Phillies organization. The franchise turned their season around with Thomson at the helm. In 111 games, Thomson posted a record of 65 wins and 46 losses for a winning percentage of .586. It should be noted that he got off to a terrific start with the Phillies as they won their first eight games.
At the end of the regular season, Thomson, who was the third Canadian manager in Major League Baseball history (following George Gibson of London, Ontario and Arthur Irwin of Toronto, Ontario), helped the Phillies post a record of 87 wins and 75 losses. Event though they were 14 games back of the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets, Philadelphia still got into the playoffs in the expanded playoff format in the National League as the number six seed.
Then in the playoffs, Thompson posted a record of nine wins and two losses for a postseason winning percentage of .818. Philadelphia beat the St. Louis Cardinals two games to none in the National League wildcard, the Atlanta Braves three games to one in the National League Divisional Series, and the San Diego Padres four games to one in the National League Championship Series. On Friday night, Thompson and the Phillies will play game one of the World Series against the Houston Astros.
