Philadelphia Phillies players made a beautiful gesture for their new manager

Phillies players make wonderful gesture for new manager Rob Thomson

The energy in the Philadelphia Phillies clubhouse has been different in June, and it’s not hard to figure out why.

Rob Thomson.

With the promotion of the longtime coach to interim manager, the Phillies have looked like a completely different team. After going 11-11 in April and 10-18 in May, they’re 15-5 in June.

The June results speak for themselves (even in the midst of a three-game losing streak), but what the players did for Thomson earlier this week speaks even louder. For their road trip, the entire club boarded the team plane in suits and ties, a sweet surprise for Thomson, who wears a suit and tie on every travel day in honor of his late father.

That the players chose to honor their new manager in such a heartfelt and thoughtful way shows how much they respect him; there is genuine affection between them and their skipper.

It’s clear how popular Thomson is with his squad. Everyone has nicknames for him: Thompo, Thomper, Thoms, Thomps, Topper, Five-Nine (his jersey number). Legendary New York Yankees manager Joe Torre came up with “Topper,” because his former coach was always on top of his job. Thomson’s favorite of the bunch is Thoms, but he doesn’t seem to mind any variation.

Suffice to say, the team chemistry and camaraderie are vastly different with him in charge. Current losing streak aside, it seems as though this team is finally finding the fun after a very long, decidedly not-fun decade. Maybe that’s exactly what they needed.