Thompson: "I'll be there alumni weekend."
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Thompson: "I'll be there alumni weekend."
David Murphy
If there are any hard feelings between Milt Thompson and the Phillies over his recent firing as the club's hitting coach, the veteran baseball man was not letting on.
"I have nothing but praise for the Phillies and the organization," said Thompson, who was fired late Thursday night with the team mired in a lengthy offensive slump. "I've enjoyed it as a player and as a coach. They've treated me well... I'll be there alumni weekend."
The Phillies, who announced the move in a brief press release Thursday night, have not commented publicly on the move.
Thompson said he thinks the biggest problem with the Phillies offense is that the line-up has spent most of the season trying too hard to make up for the absences of key players like Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco and Chase Utley. Since Utley went down with a thumb injury in late June, the club is hitting just .233. In the 21 games immediately preceding the injury, they hit .263.
"I think they were just trying too hard to make up for the losses in the line-up," said Thompson.
Thompson said he is good friends with Greg Gross, a former Phillies teammate who will take over as hitting coach.
"I just wish the best for them. I hope GG comes in and gets them going," Thompson said. "He's a good friend and a great baseball man, and I wish him the best. If he can find a way to get these guys to relax throughout all of this, that'd be great."
Thompson said he is confident that he will find another job in the sport.
"I'm a baseball man for life," said Thompson, who lives in South Jersey. "I'm going to land on my feet. Take a little time off, relax -- I've been doing it for a long time -- and then put the resume together and go try to find antoher job."
Thompson was named the hitting coach in 2005, Charlie Manuel's first season as manager. The Phillies finished first in the National League in runs three times during his tenure and finished in the top three in the other three. Currently, they are sixth.
Thompson is a class act…hope he finds a great spot away from the Phils.— phinegan
erniebanks14....you're an idiot too! You want the best power hitter in the game to bunt.. lmfao mwhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha- FIRE THE PITCHING COACH NEXT— Philly Fan in Kuwait
- Jay Grace - what evidence or proof do you have of Werth and Victorino "partying and cheating on their spouses"?? I'm not sure that comment is necessary or has any relevance here...I've never heard of either of those guys "partying and cheating".— JustaTXjock
Comment removed.- Fire the Batboy!— Bob65S
- when a team is doing bad,theres a reason for it.these guys are pros.they done this over and over.ths isn't something that just happened,so theres so rthi g wrong with the hitters.milt says they're trying too hard to make up ground in the standings?..well.......that may be so,but someone had to absorb the heat,and miltie,u were the hitters coach.,and u have to take the heat,so good luck to u ,and at least,u going out with class.not ripping anyone.amaro,should join u on your way out,but thats a long way off.— t_darb_56
- @notsofast....I don't think firing the hitting coach will get the attention of these millionaires with guarenteed contracts. They could probably couldn't care less. Maybe sitting their rich fannies on the bench for a week might help. At this point I have my doubts if that would even help.— phillyjim7
- He'll be the hitting coach in Atlanta next year if Teddy Pendleton, his ex-teammate in St. Louis and current batting coach, gets the job. God luck, you are a class act Milt.— EL Zorro
- oops...Thank God I'm not an English teacher.— phillyjim7
- Well put, Milt...thanks for all you did for us! I think the Phils just felt like they needed to shake things up...who knows? This could be just the right little spark to get them going...— burritobill
- Staying within themselves, insightful observation by a guy who'd know, having been there through good times and bad, Good Luck Milt. Making the opponent respect the bunt isn't a bad idea, also these guys have the speed to do it.— robinlupe
- He had been given the benefit of the doubt for a long time now. As a hitting coach, you need to address when your hitters are not approaching at bats properly in certain situations. He was the fortunate son of a power line up that played half of its games in a little league field. Hopefully "GG" does better this time around.— reidbetweenthelines
- Remember the hitting coach before Milt Thompson? Greg Gross.— JoeC.
- erniebanks14-- really... Ryan Howard should bunt down the third base line to help the offense. Have you looked at his numbers lately? Over .300, over 20 HR's.. leads the league in RBI's... Try analyzing one of the top 1,000 ways to help the Phillies lineup be more productive. There is one player in this lineup currently performing to acceptable standards. RYAN HOWARD. Sign Brett Butler if you want bunts.— madecaro
