PHILADELPHIA (KUAthletics.com) – Former Kansas baseball catcher and current Philadelphia Phillies manager, Rob Thomson, has directed the Phillies organization to the postseason for a third consecutive year. Philadelphia will take on the New York Mets in the National League Division Series, beginning on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 3:08 p.m. CT.
Thomson led the Phillies to a 95-67 record and an NL East division title this season. He became just the sixth manager in Phillies history to guide his club to a division title and the first manager in franchise history to reach the postseason each of his first three years as manager in the majors.
Thomson played at Kansas from 1983-85 and recorded the best hitting season in program history in 1984, when he batted .443. Thomson was a career .369 hitter during his three seasons at KU, which is tied for the fifth-highest career batting average in program history (minimum 200 at-bats). He also ended his career with the sixth-best slugging percentage at .570 and ninth-highest on-base percentage at .448.
The Sarnia, Ontario, native was named the interim manager for the Phillies on June 3, 2022. Thomson had the interim tag removed from his title on October 10, 2022. He took over the 2022 club with a 22-29 record and led the Phillies to the postseason with an 87-75 record. Thomson followed that up in 2023 with a record of 90-72 and earned the top Wild Card spot in the postseason.
On Sept. 29, 2024, Thomson became tied for the second-fastest Phillies skipper to 250 wins in franchise history. He earned his 250th victory in his 435th game. Thomson’s .575 winning percentage is the best by a manager in Phillies history (minimum 315 games) and third-best among active managers in MLB.
The 1984 season at Kansas was the best offensively for Thomson as he led the Big Eight in batting average (.443), hits (70) and doubles (18). The .443 average was not only the best single-season in Kansas history, but it also was the 10th best in the nation. He also had a .671 slugging percentage and .485 on-base percentage in 1984, which both rank 10th in the KU single-season record book (minimum 75 at-bats). Thomson was able to top both of those single-season marks in 1985 with a .678 slugging percentage (seventh all-time) and .519 on-base percentage (third all-time).
Thomson went on to be drafted in the 32nd round of the 1985 MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers. Following a short playing career with the Tigers, Thomson transitioned into coaching and has spent more than 30 years working in various positions with the Tigers, New York Yankees and Phillies.
Thomson spent 27 years in the Yankees organization in the front office and as a coach. He was the bench coach for the 2009 World Series Champion New York Yankees. Thomson helped coach Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez during his time in New York and was in the organization for five World Series Championships.
