Dunedin, Fla. – Canadian Classic
Rob Thomson, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, has had a few months to reflect on his team’s eventual post-season collapse.
The Canadian took over as captain in June when the Phillies were 22–29. He helped turn things around and lead the Phillies to the World Series, where they dropped the series in six games to the Houston Astros.
After the dust had settled, Thomson said that his brother asked him what it really felt like to manage in the Fall Classic.
“I said before the game and after the game, it felt like the World Series because it was just media and all the stuff you have to do,” Thomson said at the Blue Jays’ availability of managers and GMs at the Grapefruit League’s spring campus. .
“But during the game, I don’t know why, I could just lock up and it was just like any other game. We went through our normal process and I think the guys did too.
Related Video
Thomson, a native of Sarnia, Ont., grew up in nearby Corunna, Ont.
He became the first Canadian to serve as manager in the World Series since 1887, when Bill Watkins of Brantford, Ontario, guided the Detroit Wolverines to victory over the St. Louis Browns.
Will Rick stick?
Yusei Kikuchi and Mitch White are favorites to land the No. 5 starter role with the Blue Jays this spring, but prospect Ricky Tiedemann also presents an interesting option for Team Brass.
The 20-year-old left-hander was 5-4 with a 2.17 earned run average in the minor leagues last season. The six foot four 220-pounder is the team’s top prospect and is ranked 32nd on the MLB list.
Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said he didn’t think the club needed to temper their expectations at all, but instead needed to focus on the process.
Atkins said, “He’s as focused on this as I am on any young player around.”
Tiedemann, a native of Long Beach, California, was selected by the Blue Jays in the third round of the 2021 draft.
baby watch
Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk will be late to camp because his fiancee could give birth any time in the coming days.
The couple announced the baby news on Instagram last August, posing by home plate at Rogers Center and holding a tiny red jersey with Kirk’s No. 30 on the back.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider provided an update at the end of his media availability in recent days.
“Still on Baby Watch,” he said Friday afternoon. “I thought it was going to happen tomorrow but my last update this morning was ‘not quite yet.’
“Hopefully soon,” he added with a smile.
Kirk, a Tijuana native, will represent Mexico in next month’s World Baseball Classic.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on February 17, 2023.
Follow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter.
© 2023 The Canadian Press