Phillies news conference after firing Joe Girardi: Watch live
Joe Girardi #JoeGirardi
The Phillies fired manager Joe Girardi on Friday following a disappointing season and widespread criticism from fans and pundits alike.
Girardi, who was hired in 2019 after the team fired Gabe Kapler, led the Phillies to a 132-141 record. This season, despite having the fourth-highest payroll in the league, according to Spotrac, the Phillies are seven games below .500 and 12 games back from the National League East-leading New York Mets.
“In a town that adores fiery leaders — Larry Bowa, Charlie Manuel, Dallas Green — Girardi has endured two months of atrocious baseball with comatose aplomb,” columnist Marcus Hayes wrote this week. “The only time he lost his temper, it was at media provocateur Howard Eskin, and that doesn’t even count. The King could tick off the Queen.”
Bench coach Rob Thomson, who worked with Girardi with the Phillies and the New York Yankees, will take over as interim manager for the rest of the season.
The Phillies are scheduled to hold a news conference to discuss the move at 2 p.m. featuring Tompson and Dave Dombrowski, the team’s president of baseball operations. You can stream the news conference live here, courtesy of NBC Sports Philadelphia: