Phillies Hope History Will Repeat Itself After Firing Rob Thomson

Will recent history repeat itself for the Philadelphia Phillies after firing Rob Thomson?

Apr 23, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson (49) makes a pitching change against the Chicago Cubs during the sixth inning at Wrigley Field. | David Banks-Imagn Images

Following a terrible start to the season, the Philadelphia Phillies have fired their manager, Rob Thomson. Now, the franchise will be hoping that history will repeat itself. 

Through 28 games, the Phillies have been one of the worst teams in baseball with a 9-19 record and the worst run differential in the league as well. Philadelphia is a team that has won a lot of games in recent years, but has fallen a bit short in the postseason over the last couple. 

Despite being one of the best teams in the National League in both 2024 and 2025, the Phillies were able to win just one game against both the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now, with some recent failures in the postseason and a terrible start to this season, it wasn’t too surprising to see Thomson get fired. 

While the former manager was able to win a lot of games for Philadelphia and make the playoffs every season he was leading them, the time for a change had come. For the Phillies, they will be hoping that this move will spark the team, similar to what they did when Thomson took over after they fired Joe Girardi in 2022.

Can the Phillies Get History to Repeat?

Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

In 2022, after a 22-29 start to the season, Philadelphia was able to go on a nice run with Thomson taking over for the rest of the season. He ended up going 65-46 in his first year as the manager, and the Phillies made the postseason as a Wild Card team. 

With a ton of momentum, Philadelphia was able to make it all the way to the World Series that year, before ultimately falling short against the Houston Astros. However, the decision to fire Girardi was clearly the right one, and the team made a great run. 

As the Phillies made their decision to part ways with Thomson, they are undoubtedly hoping that history will repeat itself with Don Mattingly taking over. Even though the team has struggled to start the season, there is plenty of time to go on a run and turn things around. 

Considering that this is a veteran group for Philadelphia, the firing of their manager should be a wake-up call that they need to be better. With the schedule getting a bit easier coming up, the team has set up Mattingly for some success right off the bat. Hopefully, the team will respond positively and go on a bit of a run.