October 28, 2022
Toronto Maple Leafs legend Dave Keon rides with Philly Rob.
Prior to Game 1 of the World Series Friday night down in Houston, Phillies manager Rob Thomson and Astros manager Dusty Baker were both made available to the media.
At one point, Baker mentioned some of the big names he's heard from in the leadup to the series, including Snoop Dogg and Bill Cosby, which the latter is...concerning...
Has Thomson heard from anyone notable?
“I heard from Dave Keon," Thomson said (via MLB.com's Todd Zolecki). "If you don't know who Dave Keon is he's a famous Toronto Maple Leaf.”
Rob Thomson heard from no rappers or musicians.
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) October 28, 2022
“I heard from Dave Keon. If you don't know who Dave Keon is he's a famous Toronto Maple Leaf.” https://t.co/jqwLnzc2Rn
Keon played 15 seasons for Toronto through the 1960s and 70s, leading the Leafs to four Stanley Cups as one of the franchise's, and the NHL's, greatest players ever.
So for the 59-year old Thomson, who grew up a die-hard Leafs fan in Corunna, Ontario, hearing from the Hockey Hall of Famer is a massive deal.
Thomson has alluded to his Leafs fandom a couple of times since taking over as the Phillies' manager in early June.
Back at the beginning of September, after the Phillies had dropped two of three to Arizona and then were on the cusp of getting swept by San Francisco, narratives of another late-season collapse were starting to pop up.
Thomson chose to use the Leafs' recent history to dispel those worries, arguing that 2022's situation wasn't the same as the previous several years.
“I don’t really pay attention to that. That doesn’t make any sense to me, because there’s just different players, different people, different coaches. Everything’s different,” Thomson said (via Phillies Nation). “[The Toronto Maple Leafs] haven’t gotten out of the first round in the last 15 years. And, like, they’re obviously not the same people. So why would you even go there? As a player, a coach or a manager. It just doesn’t make any sense.”
And now the Phillies are in the World Series, which is maybe a source of optimism for Toronto as they're still looking for their breakthrough.
When the first pitch is thrown Friday night, Thomson will officially become the first Canadian in MLB history to manage a World Series team, though he's tried not to make too big of a deal about it.
"I don't know. I mean, it's great. I'm a proud Canadian and I love my country," Thomson said Thursday. "I love what we stand for. But to tell you the truth I'm just happy to be managing a team in the World Series."
But with Keon behind him, Corunna behind him, Philly absolutely behind him, at this point, it's a pretty safe bet...
Canada rides with Philly Rob.
"Yeah, I've heard. I've heard from a lot of people back home that everybody's behind us," Thomson said. "It's a big story, and that's great. But it is what it is."
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