PHILADELPHIA -- Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto have been around the game long enough to know that while one person is rarely to blame for an entire team's struggles, it's often one person that ultimately bears the brunt of that responsibility.
Such was the case on Tuesday morning, when the Phillies -- off to a disappointing 9-19 start -- dismissed manager Rob Thomson.
"As players, we're the ones that kind of make those decisions happen, right?" Harper said prior to Tuesday's series opener against the Giants at Citizens Bank Park. "If we don't play well or we don't make things happen, somebody takes the takes the fall -- and, you know, he took the fall today."
Added Realmuto: “It sucks that the players are the ones not playing well, and somebody else has to lose their job for it.”
Thomson exits with the highest winning percentage (.568) by any full-time Phillies manager since Arthur Irwin had a .575 winning percentage in his two seasons at the helm from 1894-95. He took the Phillies to the postseason in each of his four seasons, including leading the club to back-to-back NL East titles in 2024-25.
Those postseason runs provided no shortage of special moments both on the field and in the clubhouse -- where Thomson would famously ask Realmuto after each postseason win, “J.T., how many we got left, buddy?”
“Days like today are just somber and unfortunate, because you never want to see somebody who we all liked and enjoyed go through what Rob's having to go through right now,” Realmuto said. “You feel a little bit of accountability and you just feel bad for not playing well enough for him.”
Harper, now in his 15th MLB season, has seen plenty of managers come and go. In fact, Thomson is the only manager for whom Harper has played three full seasons. Harper previously played under Davey Johnson, Matt Williams, Dusty Baker and Dave Martinez in his seven seasons with the Nationals, and Gabe Kapler, Joe Girardi and Thomson since joining the Phillies.
“Obviously, losing Topper, it's tough. … We love Topper in here,” Harper said. "He was a great manager for us over the years. Yeah, I've had a lot of managers. I've played for a lot of guys over my 15-year career, and Topper is definitely one of the guys at the top.”
This decision, though, wasn't about Thomson’s relationships with his players or even the postseason disappointments of the past few seasons. After all, the Phils signed Thomson to an extension in December just two months after their most recent October heartbreak.
No, this was about the first 28 games this season.
Looking to finally get over the hump and win the franchise's first World Series since 2008, the Phillies have instead been one of the worst teams in baseball through the first month.
Offensively, the Phils entered Tuesday ranked 28th in the Majors in runs per game (3.6), 29th in batting average (.219) and 29th in OPS (.656). The pitching staff -- the club's biggest strength the past few years -- ranked 28th in ERA (5.13), 29th in WHIP (1.52) and last in opponents' batting average (.286).
"I think everybody kind of felt that something was going to happen," Harper said. "It was just a kind of a matter of time that if we didn't start playing well, then something was going to happen. I mean, that's just kind of how sports work. ... Obviously, they made their decision, and we've just got to put it behind us and start playing better baseball."
The other part of that decision to move on from Thomson involved naming Don Mattingly the club's interim manager.
Along with a 14-year playing career that included six All-Star selections, nine Gold Gloves, the 1985 AL MVP Award and a batting title, Mattingly brings 12 seasons of managerial experience. He spent five years with the Dodgers (2011-15) and seven with the Marlins (2016-22) -- a stint that included managing Realmuto for three seasons before he was traded to the Phillies in February 2019.
“Donnie's great. He's a player, so he just gets it,” Realmuto said. “He's got a lot of fire, he plays with a lot of energy, compassion. He's a competitor. His message to us today was, 'Just go out there and compete. It's us against the world.' Basically come together as a group and take things personally.”
Still, the Phillies know it all comes back to the players.
"Just got to fight for the guy next to you, fight for the player next to you," Harper said. "And guys got to step up, including myself."
The Phillies already did it once in 2022, when Thomson relieved Joe Girardi with the team sitting at 22-29. That club went on a run that ended with a National League pennant and kicked off this stretch of four consecutive postseason appearances.
Can it happen again?
"We’ve just got to play better," Harper said. "Got to be better on defense, offense and everywhere else. Just got to win.”