Baseball: Phillies fire Mackanin as manager – Reuters

(The Sports Xchange) – The Philadelphia Phillies relieved Pete Mackanin of his managerial duties on Friday but are retaining him as a special assistant to general manager Matt Klentak.

The firing is a relatively surprising move because the Phillies extended Mackanin’s contract in May. He is signed through 2018 with a team option for 2019.

Also, Philadelphia has enjoyed a strong second half behind the emergence of some young players, including slugger Rhys Hoskins, and has a 64-95 record entering Friday night’s home game against the New York Mets.

The 66-year-old Mackanin is 172-237 in 2 1/2 seasons as the Phillies’ manager. He was hired in 2015 when Ryne Sandberg resigned in late June.