Where does Rob Thomson rank among Phillies managers? His numbers put him in some elite company.
Thomson has the highest winning percentage since 1900 and despite some early exits, nearly as many postseason wins as Charlie Manuel.
The news many Phillies fans anticipated was announced on Tuesday: Rob Thomson was fired after serving as the team’s manager since June 2022.
The 2025 National League Manager of the Year finalist was let go after the Phillies’ 9-19 start to the season, which included a 10-game losing streak. It is their worst 28-game start and they are currently tied with the Mets for the worst record in all of baseball.
This season’s start is hardly indicative of Thomson’s overall tenure with the Phillies, but with a team that has the fifth-highest payroll in baseball and six consecutive series losses, the sand in Thomson’s managerial hourglass fell quicker with each loss.
» READ MORE: Phillies fire Rob Thomson after 9-19 start; Don Mattingly named interim manager
Still, in his pervious seasons, Thomson led the Phillies to four postseason berths in as many seasons as the skipper. Only Dave Roberts with the Los Angeles Dodgers has more consecutive playoff appearances as a current manager than Thomson. So where does “Topper” rank among all time Phillies managers (who have managed at least 100 games)?
Despite the team’s poor start this season, Thomson finishes with the highest winning percentage among Phillies managers since 1900 after 625 games at the helm. Earlier this month, he also became the fastest Phillies manager to reach 350 wins, with a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies on April 4.
But while Thomson is ahead of Dallas Green and Charlie Manuel in terms of career winning percentage, both earned a World Series title during their tenure, the major thing Thomson fell short of in this time with the Phillies.
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During the 2022 season, after Thomson was named the interim replacement for Joe Girardi, he led the Phillies to their first playoff berth since 2011 along with the National League pennant. They later fell to the Houston Astros in six games in the World Series. Thomson led the Phillies to the playoffs in each season since, including back-to-back NL East titles in 2024 and 2025.
Even though he never won a World Series, Thomson’s four postseason appearances are second to only Manuel (five), as are his 20 postseason wins. Manuel has 27, while Green (nine) and Jim Fregosi (six) are the only others with more than five. It’s also worth noting that Thomson benefited from an expanded playoff field.
Now, it’s Don Mattingly’s turn to take the reins and try to turn the club around as the interim manager. Mattingly has five years experience with the Dodgers from 2011-15, and more recently, seven seasons with the Marlins from 2016-22. During his time with the Dodgers, Mattingly didn’t have a season below .500. With the Marlins, he had just one season over .500.
What Mattingly will do with the Phillies — and where he’ll rank on the list above — remains to be seen.
» READ MORE: Fans, media, and a former Phillies GM react to the Rob Thomson firing with mixed emotions: ‘Wrong guy got fired’