Robert Lewis Thomson (born August 16, 1963) is a Canadian professional baseball manager for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball.
During Thomson’s playing career, he was a catcher and third baseman in the Detroit Tigers organization from 1985 to 1988. Following his years as a player, Thomson spent one year as the manager of the Class A Oneonta Yankees, and several more years in various front office capacities for the New York Yankees including as Major League Field Coordinator. He then served as the Yankees’ bench coach in 2008, third base coach from 2009 to 2014, and bench coach again from 2015 to 2017.
In 2018, Thomson was named as the bench coach of the Philadelphia Phillies. On June 3, 2022, Thomson was named interim manager of the Philadelphia Phillies following the firing of manager Joe Girardi. After leading the Phillies to their first playoff series win since 2010, Thomson was named the full-time manager on October 10, 2022. That year, he went on to lead the Phillies to their first National League pennant since 2009.
Early life
Thomson was born on August 16, 1963, in Sarnia, Ontario, and grew up in nearby Corunna, Ontario. He grew up playing baseball in the summers and hockey in the winter. Thomson has a younger sister and two older brothers, one of whom signed with the Montreal Expos.
Playing career
College career
Thomson was a standout for the Stratford Nationals of the Intercounty Baseball League. From there, he was recruited to St. Clair County Community College where he played baseball for one year. After a year, he transferred to the University of Kansas. Thomson led the Jayhawks in hits in 1984 and 1985 and holds the school record for the highest single-season batting average.
Detroit Tigers
Thomson was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 32nd round of the 1985 Major League Baseball draft from the University of Kansas. He played catcher and third base in the Tigers' minor league system until 1988, reaching as high as Class A. In 661 at bats, he hit .225/.312/.304 with seven home runs and three steals. He played 136 games at catcher, 55 games at third base, and pitched in one game.
International career
Thomson represented Canada in baseball, which was a demonstration sport, in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Coaching and front office career
Detroit Tigers (1988–1989) From 1988 to 1990, Thomson served as a minor league coach in the Detroit Tigers organization. Thomson says he got into coaching because "I wasn’t a good enough player. The game sort of forced me into coaching. I was lucky enough the Tigers thought enough of me as an evaluator, teacher and an organizer to offer me a coaching position."
New York Yankees (1990–2017)
In 1990, Thomson joined the New York Yankees organization as a third base coach for the team's Class-A affiliate in Fort Lauderdale. He moved into the front office in 1998 as a Field Coordinator, and became Director of Player Development in 2000. Prior to the 2003 season, he was named Vice President of Minor League Development, and was named to the Yankees major league coaching staff in November of the same year. Thomson ran the Yankees’ spring training camp. Yankees manager Joe Torre nicknamed Thomson "Topper" because Thomson was always on top of everything while running the spring training camp.
During the 1994–95 offseason, he managed the Canberra Bushrangers of the original Australian Baseball League.
On September 27, 2006, Thomson took over as first base coach of the Yankees in place of Tony Peña, who had learned before the game his father had died, then filled in at the position for four games before Peña returned in time for the season finale on October 1.
Prior to the 2008 season, incoming manager Joe Girardi named Thomson his bench coach. On April 4, 2008, Girardi became ill due to a respiratory infection and designated Thomson to manage that night's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. It was Thomson's first major league game as a manager, at which he became the first Canadian to manage a Major League game since George Gibson for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1934; the Yankees lost 13–4. Thomson also managed the April 5 game due to Girardi's illness, where the Yankees once again fell to the Rays by a score of 6-3
He served as the team's third base coach for six seasons and was a member of the coaching staff for the Yankees' 2009 World Series championship. Prior to the 2015 season, Thomson was named bench coach, which was a role he held until 2017.
Philadelphia Phillies (2018–present)