Rob Thomson explains why he didn’t argue crucial strike three call

PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies had an opportunity to get back into Monday night’s game against the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the seventh. With runners on first and second with two out, J.T. Realmuto crushed a deep fly ball to left that drifted just foul. They were inches away from cutting the deficit to one — and getting that elusive big hit with runners in scoring position. The team is batting .199 (25th) with a .725 OPS (12th) with runners in scoring position this season.

But the at-bat continued. With a 3-2 count against left-handed reliever Erik Miller, Realmuto took a pitch way outside for a called third strike from home plate umpire Tony Randazzo. His reaction: Hands on his head, biceps out and yelling in frustration, told the entire story. The Phillies lost 10-4.

It mirrored a key moment of the 2022 season, when Kyle Schwarber threw his bat when he got rung up on an outside pitch for strike three by Angel Hernandez.

The big difference is that the 2022 Phillies were in a more dire situation. The loss dropped them to 6-10. They were 11 years deep into a playoff drought. Real change was coming.

The pressure now is a little different, but the Phillies (9-7) are right where they need to be despite the offensive struggles. But still, was that a spot for the manager to create a spark and get tossed? The answer is no, according to Thomson.

“I generally don’t let things that I can’t control bother me,” Thomson said. “And I think it’s important to stay in the game and stay calm for your club. There’s a time when you may want to rally the troops a little bit, but I didn’t feel like that was the time.”

Thomson has picked his spots when it comes to ejections. He has been tossed from a game four times as Phillies manager, with the most recent coming on Father’s Day 2024 against the Orioles in Baltimore.

He was upset that the umpires wanted him to use a challenge to reverse a call that was initially correct, but changed after a conversation with Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. It was the most heated Thomson has been in his time as manager. It came after Zack Wheeler got knocked around against a young Orioles lineup. It was a hot day, and the Phillies were coming off of a lousy series in Boston after flying back to the states from London. He picked his spot.

Thomson watches the game from the far left side of the first-base dugout with a view below field level. From his angle, it’s difficult to judge exactly where the ball is. There are iPads in the dugout that relay the exact location of a pitch on a 20 to 30-second delay. But as Ben Davis loves to say on the television broadcast: “The hitter will let you know.”

“It was a ball, but it wasn’t egregious,” Thomson said. “And I can’t tell from the side anyways.”