Don Mattingly, Former Manager, Miami Marlins


Date of Birth: 4/20/1961
Birthplace: Evansville, Indiana
Nickname: Donnie Baseball

Don Mattingly, former manager of the Miami Marlins, had a 14 year stellar career as a first baseman with the New York Yankees from 1982 through 1995. He was already a star player in high school and the Yankees drafted him while he was still a teenager. Mattingly started in the minor leagues for the Yankees, batting .349 in 1979, .358 in 1980 and .316 in 1981. In 1982, he played most of the season in the minors, coming up to the Yankees in September, playing just 7 games for them that season.

Career playing statistics for Mattingly include:

  • 1,785 games played
  • 2,153 hits
  • 442 doubles
  • 222 home runs
  • 1,099 RBIs
  • 588 walks to 444 strikeouts
  • .307 batting average

His accomplishments over his 14 years with the Yankees include:

  • 7 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .343 in 1984
  • 3 seasons with over 200 hits, with a high of 238 in 1986
  • 4 seasons with 40 or more doubles, with a high of 53 in 1986
  • 5 seasons with over 20 home runs, with a high of 35 in 1985
  • 5 seasons with over 100 RBIs, with a high of 145 in 1985

Awards won by Mattingly include:

  • 9 Gold Gloves (1985-1989, 1991-1994)
  • 3 Silver Slugger awards (1985-1987)
  • 1985 AL MVP
  • 1984 AL Batting title
  • 1985 AL RBI leader

In addition to all of his achievements and honors, the Yankees made him their captain in 1991 and he held that honor through 1995.

After just one year away from the Yankees, they brought Mattingly back as a special instructor during Spring training. He stayed in that position from 1997 through 2003. Mattingly continued with the Yankees, first as a hitting coach from 2004 through 2006 and then as their bench coach in 2007.

In 2008, Mattingly left the Yankees after losing the chance for the manager's position to Joe Girardi. He then went with Joe Torre to the Los Angeles Dodgers to become their hitting coach through the 2010 season.

After Joe Torre retired as manager of the Dodgers, Mattingly became their new manager in 2011. In his five years as manager of the Dodgers, Mattingly has led them to five winning seasons. In 2013, the Dodgers led the National League West division by 11 games, finishing the season with a 92-70 win-loss record. They then went on to win the NL Division series but they lost the NL Championship series to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Mattingly again led the Dodgers to a stellar finish in 2014. The team finished in first place in the NL West division with a 94-68 record. They repeated their defeat in the NL Championship series, once again losing to the Cardinals.

The 2015 season was another good one for Mattingly and the Dodgers. He led them again to first place in the NL West division with 92 wins and 70 losses. They lost three games to two to the New York Mets in the NL Division Series. In his five years managing the Dodgers, Mattingly had an impressive 446-363 win-loss record.

On October 22, 2015, Mattingly parted ways with the Dodgers. A week later, on October 29th, he signed a four-year contract to manage the Marlins. In his first year with the Marlins, he led the team to a third place finish in the NL East division with a 79-82 record. The team and Mattingly finished in second place in the division in 2017 with 77 wins and 85 losses.

Mattingly had a difficult job in 2018, managing a club in the process of rebuilding. Most of the team's major players were traded away prior to the start of the season. The Marlins finished the season with 63 wins and 98 losses.

Mattingly and the Marlins had an even worse record in 2019. They had the worst record in the National League with just 57 wins and 105 losses.

Mattingly led the Marlins a second place finish in the NL East division in 2020, with 31 wins and 29 losses. They defeated the Chicago Cubs in the NL Wild Card race in two games, but then they lost the NLDS to the Atlanta Braves in a three game sweep.

Mattingly was named the NL Manager of the Year in 2020 for his success with the Marlins.

Mattingly and the Marlins had a poor season in 2021, finishing in fourth place in the NL East division with 67 wins and 95 losses.

Mattingly's record as a major league manager in five years with the Dodgers and six years with the Marlins is 820 wins to 857 losses.

Mattingly left his managerial position with the Marlins after the 2022 season ended.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Don Mattingly
Baseball Reference - Don Mattingly