Phillies fire manager Joe Girardi, name Rob Thomson as interim
Joe Girardi's time as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies is over.
The Phillies fired Girardi and coaching assistant Bobby Meacham on Friday morning, the team announced. The Phillies are 22-29 and have lost seven of their past nine games.
Bench coach Rob Thomson was named the interim manager and quality assurance coach Mike Calitri was promoted to bench coach.
Phillies president David Dombrowski said in a statement that the team needed "a new voice in the clubhouse" following a little more than two seasons under Girardi.
"It has been a frustrating season for us up until this point, as we feel that our club has not played up to its capabilities. While all of us share the responsibility for the shortcomings, I felt that a change was needed and that new voice in the clubhouse would give us the best chance to turn things around. I believe we have a talented group that can get back on track, and I am confident that Rob, with his experience and familiarity with our club, is the right man to lead us going forward."
Girardi's tenure with the Phillies has been marked by the team's failure to make the postseason and persistent bullpen issues. His 131-141 record is a smidge below .500 and Philadelphia barely missed the postseason in each of Girardi's two seasons. His 2020 bullpen also had the worst ERA since 1950 and the 2021 squad tied for the second-most blown saves in MLB history.
The Phillies didn't expect this type of ending after Girardi joined the team following a successful 10-year stint with the New York Yankees from 2008-17. Girardi had a 910-710 regular-season record and a 28-24 postseason mark with the Yankees that included a World Series championship and four total ALCS appearances.
It's even funnier when juxtaposed against the managerial record of San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler, the man the Phillies fired before bringing in Girardi. Kapler is 163-109 since joining the Giants in 2020 and is coming off a first-place finish in the NL West in 2021.
Thomson, 58, takes over as manager after originally joining the Phillies in 2017. Prior to coaching in Philadelphia, Thomson was Girardi's bench coach in New York from 2008-2017. He was the 32nd draft pick by the Detroit Tigers in 1985, where he played catcher and third base in the Tigers' minor league system until 1988.
