Out of all the places in the world Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson could’ve been on Wednesday, Lakeland, Florida, might be dead last.
An in-game interview on ESPN? Perhaps a close second.
Everything was going so well. We already talked up in-game interviews and how they fit so well with the dynamic of spring training, as New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza made a pitching change during his on Tuesday. As it turns out, perhaps Thomson should’ve made one before his own in-game interview even started.
Thomson didn’t have the same luck as his NL East counterpart. In fact, if given the choice, he might’ve preferred to vanish into thin air rather than jog out to the mound to pull a starter who was clearly done for the day, as Mendoza did with Tylor Megill.
As Thomson chatted throughout the home half of the second inning with each of Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez and Ben McDonald, his newly-acquired starter looked to get out of a bases-loaded jam. Jesús Luzardo, who the Phillies acquired in an offseason trade with the Miami Marlins, was stellar in his first spring start.
His second? Not so much.
After loading the bases, Detroit Tigers outfielder Jahmai Jones made Luzardo pay — hammering a grand slam off the scoreboard in deep left field at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium.
Thomson, who is affectionately known as ‘Topper’ by the Phillies faithful and his players, said, “It looked like a changeup.”
That was it. Just a few words as the Tigers started their onslaught.
On the very next pitch, infielder Andy Ibáñez got a hold of one.
The following pitch? Gleyber Torres followed suit.
Three home runs. Three pitches. All nearly in the same spot.
And all Thomson could do was watch in dead silence. The camera panned pan back to the Phillies manager on a split-screen, and he could only manage to bite his lip as he looked like he wanted to be literally anywhere else.
Spring training may not count, but this moment certainly did.