PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Rob Thomson has the sparse office decor of a manager who still has interim in his title. He also has the Philadelphia Phillies on the brink of their first playoff berth in 11 years.
Get there — and end the longest postseason drought in the National League — and maybe Thomson can hang a few more keepsakes. The ones already on the wall are mostly framed newspaper pages with boldface headlines of the greatest moments of the Phillies’ last heyday, reminders of the success the franchise has yet to duplicate during the trying slog of a decade since 2011.
The man in the middle of the framed photo behind the manager’s chair is the one who has the Phillies positioned for the postseason. There’s Thomson, wide smile, arms stretched and palms out, dapper in a fedora and a suit and tie. Even as road-trip attire has relaxed, the 59-year-old Thomson wears a suit and tie on every trip, a tribute to his father who told him that was how a ballplayer dressed. The Phillies surprised him on a summer road trip to Texas by, well, following suit and dressing to the nines in an homage to their manager.
The self-effacing Canadian clearly won over his players — and won over 60% of his games since he was hired in June after Joe Girardi was fired and the Phillies were foundering below .500.
Just don’t ask Thomson if he thinks he deserves credit for the turnaround.
“I don’t. It’s almost embarrassing,” Thomson said. “That’s who I am. I think it’s about players. I think it’s about a whole community of people that pull together and win games.”
They have to win just a few more to clinch an NL wild-card spot.
The Phillies’ magic number is eight as they open a 10-game road trip Tuesday at Wrigley Field. If the Phillies keep their third wild-card spot, it’s off to St. Louis for a…