Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson is a baseball fan at heart.
As Thomson begins his fourth season directing the Phillies from the dugout, it’s only appropriate that Saturday’s Opening Day game of the spring training schedule is on the road in Lakeland, Fla. Thomson’s four seasons as a player, all in the Detroit Tigers’ organization (1985–1988), were centered around the Lakeland facility, affectionately known to the club’s fan base as Tigertown.
Growing up in Corunna, Ontario, Canada, near the shores of Lake Huron and 65 miles north of Detroit, Thomson followed the Tigers. Whether taking a road trip with family to what was then Tiger Stadium or catching their televised games, Thomson followed his favorite team closely.
“I just love baseball,” Thompson, 61, told The Epoch Times. “I always saw myself as part of a great Tigers fan following.”
Thomson recalls checking newspaper game stories and keeping a close eye on Detroit box scores in area newspapers. One particular Detroit outfielder held his attention as a child: Al Kaline, addressed as “Mr. Tiger” by media outlets. Thomson still admits to getting goosebumps when discussing his all-time favorite ballplayer.
“I saw him toward the tail end of his career. The guy could do it all on the field, and with his bat. When [Kaline] was elected to the Hall of Fame, no Tiger fan was as happy for him [as] me.”
But Thomson’s fairy tale Tigers fan story got better. After three successful seasons at the University of Kansas, at age 21, Thomson was selected by the Tigers in the 32nd round of MLB’s 1985 amateur draft. During parts of three seasons playing for the Lakeland Tigers in the Class A Florida State League, his teammates included future Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz (1986) and current Arizona Diamondbacks’ skipper Torey Lovullo (1987).
“When I signed with the Tigers and went to my first spring training in Lakeland, I was the happiest kid in the game. It’s one of my biggest thrills of my career,” said Thomson, who played for Team Canada in the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles, when baseball was a demonstration sport.
Joining the Phillies in 2018, Thomson held the bench coach role through the start of the 2022 season, serving as the “right-hand man” of manager Joe Girardi for three seasons. In June 2022 Philadelphia’s front office made a change in the dugout.
Girardi was fired, and his longtime friend and on-field confidant Thomson was given the reins on an interim basis. Originally planning to retire after the 2022 season, Thomson changed his plans based on the club’s performance and his success at getting the players to buy into his strategies. The Phillies captured the National League pennant, then took the Houston Astros to six games in the 118th edition of the World Series.
Today, Grapefruit League exhibition games aside, during the next four weeks at the Phillies’ spring headquarters in Clearwater, Fla., Thomson is all business in molding the roster that he wants to come north at the end of next month.
Philadelphia is one of the strongest clubs in the National League, and Thomson is driven to make it back to the Fall Classic. Three seasons in a row under Thomson’s leadership, the Phillies have seen postseason action. After the World Series, the 2023 club advanced to the National League Championship Series. Last season, the Phillies were bested by the New York Mets in National League Division Series play.
With stalwarts such as Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, and Kyle Schwarber leading the Phillies’ offense, and solid pitching expected from ace Zack Wheeler, the odds favor Thomson’s club making the postseason again.
While falling in love with baseball in the close-knit community of Corunna (population 6,200), Thompson said not in his wildest dreams did he think he could reach the level that he currently holds. It has always been his passion for the game that has guided Thomson. When deciding who makes the Phillies squad, who is the next player called up from Triple-A, or who on the waiver list deserves a look, Thomson has the club and fans in mind always.
And whenever Thomson steps on the field, there’s still some of that teenage Tigers fan in him.
