Baseball lifer and team player Rob Thomson has turned out to be much more for the Phillies

Rob Thomson and John Schneider are the current interim managers of the Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays respectively. They are in the playoffs. Thomson was hired by the Phillies after Joe Girardi was fired. It's the first time the team has been in a postseason in 11 years.  Thomson is a baseball lifer. He's a good team player. His team is in good shape. The team was in trouble this spring. There were problems with the management of Girard and Counsell. This is the result. For Thomson it was a Kismet. In the wild-card era, only Jack McKeon won the World Series in 2003.

Thomson has been in charge of the Philadelphia Phillies since July. He has a 65-46 record. The team won two wild-card berths and is playing for the third and final NL wild card. Thomson is a manager-of-the-year candidate. Other managers with more experience are under pressure. Dave Roberts won the award with the Dodgers. They are also more powerful. Their success will be measured in more than just division titles and pennants.

Thomson is the Phillies' interim manager. He is about to manage his first postseason game. Players believe he should be the permanent manager of the team. He has been a team player for the Philadelphia Phillies. The team is playing the Cardinals in the wild-card game in St. Louis. It's possible that Thomson will be manager until 2023. His contract could be one of 23 one-year contracts.

Claire Smith is on the faculty at Temple and is the co-director of the Claire Smith Center for Sports Media. She is a member of Baseball Hall of Fame and a former Inquirer Sports Columnist. Rob Thomson has turned out to be a team player for the Phillies.