Teams to make World Series after manager change

Though the Phillies entered the 2022 season with some lofty expectations, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski sensed that things might be slipping away from the club as the calendar flipped to June.

It was at that point that he made the decision to fire veteran manager Joe Girardi and replace him with Rob Thomson, who was Girardi’s long-time bench coach with both the Phillies and Yankees. The move paid off, as the Phillies not only turned their season around, but went on to win the NL pennant.

In doing so, they became just the ninth team in MLB history to win a pennant after switching managers during the season -- they weren't able to win the World Series, however, falling to the Astros in six games.

“Looking at the players -- and teams obviously vary in terms of their construction, their age, their experience -- Dave just thought that Rob was a softer touch and was a little more patient with some of the younger players,” said Phillies managing partner John Middleton. “And that was our particular case. There are other cases where that wasn’t the right thing to do, but it was in our case in that moment in time.”

Here's a closer look at each of the nine times it indeed proved to be the right midseason move, though some came under very different circumstances than the 2022 Phillies:

2022 Phillies
Managerial switch: Rob Thomson replaced Joe Girardi

After adding Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber to a lineup that already included Rhys Hoskins, J.T. Realmuto and reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper, the Phillies entered the 2022 season confident they were going to return to the postseason for the first time since 2011. Yet after just a 22-29 start that included multiple bullpen meltdowns and sloppy defensive play, the team dismissed manager Joe Girardi and replaced him with longtime big league coach Rob Thomson.

The turnaround was immediate. The Phillies won 10-0 in their first game under Thomson and went on to win each of his first eight games at the helm. They posted a 65-46 record under Thomson while clinching an NL Wild Card berth in the season’s final series. The Phils then swept the Cardinals in the NL Wild Card Series before shocking the Braves in the NLDS and making quick work of the Padres in the NLCS. Philadelphia then lost a six-game World Series to the Astros. It was during that postseason run that Philadelphia removed Thomson’s interim tag and gave him a two-year contract extension.

2003 Marlins
Managerial switch: Jack McKeon replaced Jeff Torborg
World Series result: Won vs. Yankees

After winning the 1997 World Series under Jim Leyland, the Marlins immediately launched into a rebuild. They posted five straight losing seasons from 1998-2002 -- and used four managers in the process. Leyland resigned following the ’98 campaign in which the club went just 54-108. John Boles then managed for 2 1/2 seasons before the club moved on during the 2001 season and let Tony Perez finish out the year.

Next up was Jeff Torborg, who went 79-83 in his debut season in 2002 before getting off to a slow start in ’03. After just 38 games -- and a 16-22 start -- the Marlins fired Torborg and hired then-72-year-old Jack McKeon. The team went just 3-7 in McKeon’s first 10 games, bottoming out at 10 games under .500 (19-29) on May 22. The Marlins then rattled off six straight wins before going 33-18 in June and July, then finishing the season with an 18-8 mark in September to clinch the NL Wild Card spot. McKeon guided the Marlins past the NL West champion Giants and NL Central champion Cubs before shocking the AL champion Yankees in the World Series.

1983 Phillies
Managerial switch: Paul Owens replaced Pat Corrales
World Series result: Lost vs. Orioles

This one was a bit of a shock, as Corrales was dismissed despite the Phillies sitting in first place at the time. Corrales led the Phils to an 89-73 mark and a second-place finish in his debut season in 1982, then started the following year 43-42 before Owens -- the club’s general manager at the time -- fired Corrales and assumed the managerial role himself.

Philadelphia continued to hover around .500 for most of the season before finally taking off in the final month of the season. The Phillies went 22-7 in September, including an 11-game winning streak that catapulted them from a first-place tie with the Pirates to a 4 1/2-game division lead. They went on to win the NL East by six games and made quick work of the Dodgers in the NLCS before falling to the Orioles in five games in the World Series.

1982 Brewers
Managerial switch: Harvey Kuenn replaced Buck Rodgers
World Series result: Lost vs. Cardinals

After leading the Brewers to their first postseason appearance in franchise history in the strike-impacted 1981 season, Rodgers got off to a slow start in ’82. With the club sitting at 23-24 on June 1, Milwaukee fired Rodgers and promoted hitting coach Harvey Kuenn to take his place. The move had an immediate impact, with the Brewers going 20-7 in June on their way to posting a 95-67 mark and winning the AL East. “Harvey’s Wallbangers” went on to win the franchise’s first pennant before falling to the Cardinals in seven games in the ’82 World Series.

1981 Yankees
Managerial switch: Bob Lemon replaced Gene Michael
World Series result: Lost vs. Dodgers

This is the only case on this list which the new manager actually fared worse than the original. Michael had already helped the Yanks clinch a postseason spot by winning the AL East in the first half of the strike-impacted 1981 season. Yet in the season’s second half, with Michael continuing to clash with owner George Steinbrenner, the team fired Michael and turned to Bob Lemon with just 25 games remaining. The club went 11-14 under Lemon down the stretch and ultimately lost to the Dodgers in the Fall Classic. Michael returned to the helm in 1982, though he again did not last the season due to his ongoing feud with Steinbrenner.

1978 Yankees
Managerial switch: Bob Lemon replaced Billy Martin
World Series result: Won vs. Dodgers

Martin had no problem winning in New York. In his first full season at the helm, he led the Yanks to a 97-62 record in 1976 before getting swept by the Reds in the World Series. The following year, the Yankees won 100 games on their way to winning the ’77 World Series -- their first title since ’62. But following a 52-42 start in ’78, Martin promptly resigned after a feud with star player Reggie Jackson -- and a comment directed toward owner George Steinbrenner. Lemon stepped in -- just as he’d do three years later for Gene Michael -- and led the Yankees back to the Fall Classic, where they defeated the Dodgers in six games.

1947 Dodgers
Managerial switch: Burt Shotton replaced Clyde Sukeforth
World Series result: Lost vs. Yankees

This one comes with a bit of an asterisk. With manager Leo Durocher suspended for the entire 1947 season, Sukeforth -- then a coach on the Brooklyn Dodgers’ staff -- “managed” the first two games of the season before declining to accept the full-time acting manager gig. The Dodgers then turned to Shotton -- a scout for the club -- to manage the rest of the season. Brooklyn won the NL with a 94-60 record, then fell to the AL champion Yankees in seven games in the World Series.

1938 Cubs
Managerial switch: Gabby Hartnett replaced Charlie Grimm
World Series result: Lost vs. Yankees

Grimm’s initial managerial tenure with the Cubs ended in the same way it had begun -- a managerial replacement in the middle of a pennant-winning season. Grimm’s managerial career began as a player-manager in 1932, when he replaced fellow player-manager Rogers Hornsby upon his release (more on that below). But Grimm was on the other end of a similar move in ’38.

Though Chicago had gotten off to a respectable 45-36 start in the 1938 season, then-owner P.K. Wrigley moved Grimm to the broadcast booth and replaced him with player-manager Gabby Hartnett. The move once again paid off as Hartnett led the club to a 44-27 record, including a 21-5 mark in September, to clinch the NL pennant. The Cubs were ultimately swept by the Yankees in the World Series.

1932 Cubs
Managerial switch: Charlie Grimm replaced Rogers Hornsby
World Series result: Lost vs. Yankees

Though Hornsby won the 1929 MVP Award with the Cubs in the midst of a 23-year Hall of Fame career, he struggled while serving as the club’s player-manager during an injury-plagued ’32 campaign. Though the Cubs got off to a 53-46 start, Hornsby had played in only 19 of those 99 games before the team released him and turned to Grimm, the club’s first baseman, to assume the player-manager role. Chicago went 37-18 the rest of the way to win the NL pennant, though it was swept by the Yankees in the ’32 Fall Classic.