"We’re looking to win the division" - Phillies' manager Rob Thomson has great expectations from team for 2024 season
Speaking to the Philadelphia Inquirer on Thursday, Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson said that the team's aim is to win the division this year, and he had some ideas on how they are going to do it. The Phillies secured a Wild Card spot in the playoffs after finishing second in the division, and their 60-year-old manager wants to do better this year. While speaking to the Inquirer's Alex Coffey, the Philadelphia manager outlined what they need to do in order to finish on top of the division this year:
"We’re looking to win the division. And to do that, we have to play solid every month out of the year,” said Thomson.
Rob Thomson started his career in baseball as a player after college when he was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 1985 MLB draft. He played as a catcher and third baseman in the minor league system for four years before taking on the role of minor league coach within the organization. He then joined the New York Yankees organization as a minor league coach in 1990 and in 2008, he became a bench coach in the major league.
In 2018, Thomson was hired as the Phillies bench coach and held the position for five years before being named the team's manager ahead of the 2022 season. In 2022, the Phillies finished third in the division. They finished second in 2023. Thomson now has his eyes set on winning the division this year.
The manager believes that the key to this is a strong start to the season, for which the offense needs enough at-bats during Spring Training to come out blazing at the start of the regular season. The second crucial area he said was that the bullpen does well, and to make sure they don't get overworked ahead of the season.
Can Rob Thomson's Phillies take the division away from Atlanta Braves this year?
The Atlanta Braves have won the National League East consecutively for the last five years, and did so last season by fourteen games. However, Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson has plans to change that. The last time that the Phillies won the division was back in 2011, when they went on to lose the NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals.
It will be interesting to see how the Phillies perform at the start of the season, showing the same intent as laid down by the manager ahead of Spring Training.