The Philadelphia Phillies fired Rob Thomson after a 9-19 start to the 2026 season, hiring Don Mattingly as interim manager. Mattingly's start parallels Thomson's tenure in 2022.
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Don Mattingly's start as Phillies manager is eerily similar to Rob Thomson's in 2022 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Philadelphia Phillies made the tough decision to fire Rob Thomson after a few successful seasons, but some struggles to begin the 2026 season.
At 9-19, the Phillies fired Thomson, bringing in Don Mattingly as the interim manager. Four years after Thomson took over a similar role, the Phillies have changed their manager mid-season again.
But, as MLB.com's Paul Casella pointed out following the Phillies walk-off win over the San Francisco Giants, the start to Mattingly's tenure as manager and Thomson's return in 2022 is eerily similar.
"If this feels familiar for the Phillies... Rob Thomson's 1st game after taking over: 10-0 win. Two days later: Come-from-behind walk-off win in 9th," Casella writes. "Don Mattingly's 1st game after taking over: 7-0 win. Two days later: Come-from-behind walk-off win in 9th."
This is a very odd coincidence for the Phillies and their two most recent interim managers. Thomson and Mattingly had very similar starts to their tenures as Phillies managers.
The Phillies fired Rob Thomson due to a disappointing 9-19 start to the 2026 season after several successful years.
Don Mattingly's start as manager is eerily similar to Rob Thomson's return in 2022, marked by early struggles.
The Phillies had a record of 9-19 when they hired Don Mattingly as their interim manager.
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Back in 2022, after Joe Girardi was fired at 22-29, Thomson took over for the series against the Los Angeles Angels, where the Phillies won 10-0 in Game 1, won 7-2 in Game 2, and then in Game 3, the Phillies walked it off and won 9-7 against the Angels.
This season, after Mattingly took over, Game 1 against the San Francisco Giants was a 7-0 shutout win, followed by a rain delay, and Game 2 (two days later) ended on a Justin Crawford walk-off single.
This is somehow not the first time in the last five years that an interim Phillies manager faced a West-Coast team, won in blowout and shutout fashion in Game 1, and then two days later, won on a walk-off hit in the 9th inning.
It's a strange coincidence that doesn't mean one thing or another, but it's a fascinating repeat of history for the Phillies, as this sequence of events has now happened two times in a row.