MIAMI, FLORIDA - MARCH 12: Teruaki Sato #7 of Team Japan looks on during a World Baseball Classic workout day at loanDepot park on March 12, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Gene Wang - Capture At Media/Getty Images)
The Philadelphia Phillies made a drastic move at the top and it seems to have paid off.
In the midst of a 9-19 start to the year and a negative-54 run differential, the Phillies fired long-time manager Rob Thomson and replaced him with bench coach Don Mattingly. Since then, the team has surged back to a neutral record and Mattingly has embraced the chance to work more directly alongside his son, Preston Mattingly, who is the Phillies’ general manager.
“I like working with him,” Don Mattingly said of working with Preston, per The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber. “Because you think about it, we’ve been in different places fighting for a dream, right? And now we’re together fighting for our dream. It’s a lot better.”
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