Phillies Coach Dusty Wathan Joined Special Group Managing Against Pirates

Normally, games held in the middle of May don’t hold a ton of significance, but that was not the case when the Philadelphia Phillies faced off against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on May 16.

Interim manager Don Mattingly was not with the team. He was attending the graduation of his son, Trevor, from Purdue University. In need of a coach for the day, it was Dusty Wathan who was tasked with filling in.

He started the year as the team’s third base coach, but when Mattingly took over for Rob Thomson, he asked Wathan to move into the dugout with him. Then, for one day, he was tasked with being the manager for the day.

Naturally, that left him laser-focused on how he would help get the Phillies back to the .500 mark, not the history that he was becoming part of.

Dusty Wathan joins special club managing Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies third base coach Dusty Wathan (62) looks on during the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants. — May 4, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies third base coach Dusty Wathan (62) looks on during the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park. | John Jones-Imagn Images

When he handed in his team’s lineup card before the first pitch, Wathan became the latest father/son duo to both manage a game in the MLB. His dad, John, was a catcher with the Kansas City Royals for 10 years and was part of their World Series-winning team in 1985.

When his playing career ended, he went right into coaching. In 1987, he took over as manager of the Royals for 36 games and held the position through 37 games of the 1991 campaign before he was fired.

Wathan had a record of 287-270 with Kansas City, but didn’t make the postseason a single time. During the 1992 season, he was manager of the California (now Anaheim) Angels for 89 games, going 39-50.

Just like his father, Dusty has a winning record as an MLB manager. The Phillies defeated the Pirates 6-0, making life as easy as possible for Wathan in his managerial debut.

"Managing's really easy when you have really good players and they play well," Wathan said with a grin, via ESPN.

SANCHIE SATURDAY ✔️#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/UhmxzLewO1
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 16, 2026

Philadelphia jumped out to an early lead, going ahead 3-0 in the top of the first before Pittsburgh even got to bat. Bryce Harper hit a 3-run home run to get this started after Trea Turner singled and Kyle Schwarber walked.

Two more runs would score in the top of the second inning when Schwarber hit his eighth double of the year. J.T. Realmuto and Turner both came around to score that time, and Harper was intentionally walked.

The sixth and final run came in the top of the eighth inning when Turner hit his eighth double of the year and scored Justin Crawford.

Those insurance runs were certainly nice, but they weren’t needed with how well Cristopher Sanchez was throwing. He recorded a complete-game shutout, striking out 13 batters in the process while allowing only six hits and walking zero.

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