The Philadelphia Phillies were the first team to fire its manager in the 2022 campaign.
Ownership didn’t like the direction of the franchise under Joe Girardi, and he was dismissed on June 3.
Rob Thomson took over as the interim skipper, and the team’s turnaround has been outstanding since then.
“The Phillies’ postseason odds on the day they fired Joe Girardi (June 3): 22.1% The Phillies’ postseason odds today, per Fangraphs: 96.1%,” Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweeted.
The Phillies' postseason odds on the day they fired Joe Girardi (June 3): 22.1%
The Phillies' postseason odds today, per Fangraphs: 96.1%
— Alex Coffey (@byalexcoffey) September 15, 2022
Thomson helped turn Philadelphia’s season around, and the most impressive part is that he didn’t even have the team’s best player, Bryce Harper, for much of his tenure as manager.
Harper missed exactly two months of action with a fractured thumb: he didn’t play from June 25 to August 26.
The Phillies Are Looking Like Legit Contenders
It didn’t really matter, because the Phillies kept winning anyway.
Led by Kyle Schwarber‘s enormous power (he has 38 long balls on the season) and other important contributors like Rhys Hoskins, Jean Segura, J.T. Realmuto and Alec Bohm, the offense has been very productive.
The Phillies pitching staff has also been amazing.
Aaron Nola is a legitimate ace that is actually one of the most underrated arms in the majors, and Zack Wheeler is another bonafide ace.
The middle of the rotation is well-covered by Ranger Suarez and Kyle Gibson; and Bailey Falter has been a revelation as a backend starter.
The talent on the roster has obviously helped Thomson, but the manager deserves some credit, too.
He has a 58-33 record while leading the Phillies, good for an impressive .637 winning percentage.
He has been one of the best managers in baseball, all things considered, and the Phillies look like contenders.
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