Don Mattingly

Donald Arthur "Don" Mattingly (born April 20, 1961) is an American professional baseball first baseman, coach and manager. Mattingly is currently the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball. Nicknamed "The Hit Man" and "Donnie Baseball", he played for the New York Yankees during his 14-year playing career.

Mattingly graduated from Reitz Memorial High School in Evansville, Indiana, and was selected by the Yankees in the amateur draft. Debuting with the Yankees in 1982 after three seasons in minor league baseball, Mattingly emerged as the Yankees' starting first baseman after a successful rookie season in 1983. Mattingly was named to the American League (AL) All-Star team six times. He won nine Gold Glove Awards, three Silver Slugger Awards, and was the 1985 AL Most Valuable Player. Mattingly served as captain of the Yankees from 1991 through 1995, when he retired as a player.

Returning to the Yankees as a coach in 2004 for manager Joe Torre, he followed Torre to the Dodgers in 2008, and succeeded him as the Dodgers' manager in 2011. The Yankees retired Mattingly's uniform number after his retirement, and he has received consideration for induction to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, though he has not been elected.

High school
A graduate of Reitz Memorial High School in Evansville, Indiana in 1979, he led the Tigers to a state record 59 straight victories through the 1978-79 season. In 1978 the Tigers were crowned State Champions and were State Runners-up in 1979. Don was the L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude recipient in 1979. He was All-City, All-SIAC (Southern Indiana Athletic Conference), and All State in both 1978 and 1979. During the four years he played in high school the Tigers compiled a 94-9-1 won – loss record and Don hit .463. He still holds Memorial records for hits (152); doubles (29): triples (25 - also the state record); RBIs (140); and runs scored (99).

Following this outstanding career, Don accepted a scholarship to play baseball for the Indiana State Sycamores and Coach Bob Warn. However, after being drafted by the Yankees, Don decided to begin his professional career.

Professional career
In the minors, Mattingly batted .349 in 1979, .358 in 1980, and .316 in 1981. He was hitting .315 for Triple-A Columbus when he made it to the majors late in the 1982 season. He made his Major League debut on September 8 of that season, as a late inning defensive replacement against the Baltimore Orioles. He recorded his first at-bat on September 11 against the Milwaukee Brewers, popping out to third base in the seventh inning. His first career Major League hit occurred in the bottom of the 11th inning against the Boston Red Sox on October 1, a single to right field off of Steve Crawford. He only has 2 hits in 12 at-bats that season.

Mattingly spent his official rookie season of 1983 as a part-time first baseman and outfielder. He played well, hitting .283 in 279 at-bats. He hit his first home run on June 24 against John Tudor of the Red Sox.

Mattingly became the Yankees' full-time first baseman in 1984 after the trade of Steve Balboni to Kansas City. He hit .343 and beat out teammate Dave Winfield in a close race for the American League batting title with a 4-for-5 game on the last day of the season. Mattingly also led the league with 207 hits. He developed a power stroke, slugging a league-leading 44 doubles to go with 23 home runs. He was 2nd in the league in slugging percentage (.537) and at bats per strikeout (18.3), 4th in total bases (324), 5th in RBIs (110), 6th in sacrifice flies (9), and 10th in on base percentage (.381).

Mattingly followed up his breakout season with a spectacular 1985, winning the MVP award in the American League. He batted .324 (3rd in the league) with 35 home runs (4th), 48 doubles (1st), and 145 RBI (1st), then the most RBIs in a season by a left-handed major league batter since Ted Williams drove in 159 in 1949. His 21-RBI lead in the category was the most in the American League since Al Rosen's RBI title of 1953. He led the league in sacrifice flies (15), total bases (370), and extra base hits (86), and was 2nd in the AL in hits (211) and slugging percentage (.567), 3rd in intentional walks (13) and at bats per strikeout (13.9), 6th in runs (107), and 9th in at bats per home run (18.6). He batted .354 with two out and runners in scoring position.

Mattingly was also recognized in 1985 for his defense, winning his first of nine Gold Glove Awards. He was considered such an asset defensively that Yankees management assigned him to play games at second base and third base early in his career, even though he was a left-handed thrower. Mattingly appeared as a left-handed throwing second baseman for one-third of one inning, during the resumption of the George Brett "Pine Tar Incident" game in 1983. He also played three games as a left-handed throwing third baseman during a five-game series against the Seattle Mariners in 1986.

Mattingly did just as well in 1986, leading the league with 238 hits, 53 doubles (to date, both are single-season franchise records, having broken Earle Combs' 231 and Lou Gehrig's 52 respectively; both had been set in 1927 ), 388 total bases, and a .573 slugging percentage. He also batted .352 (2nd in the league), hit 31 home runs (6th) and drove in 113 runs (3rd). However, he was easily beaten in the American League MVP voting by pitcher Roger Clemens, who also won the Cy Young Award that year.

In 1987, Mattingly tied Dale Long's major league record by hitting home runs in eight consecutive games (record later tied again by Ken Griffey, Jr., of Seattle in 1993), as well as stroking an extra base hit in ten consecutive games. Mattingly had a record 10 home runs during this streak (Long & Griffey had eight of them). Also that season, Mattingly set a major league record by hitting six grand slam home runs in a season, a record matched by Travis Hafner during the 2006 season. Mattingly's Grand Slams in 1987 were also the only six Grand Slams of his career.

In June 1987, it was reported that Mattingly injured his back during some clubhouse horseplay with pitcher Bob Shirley though both denied this. Nevertheless, he finished with a .327 batting average, 30 home runs, and 115 RBIs, his fourth straight year with at least 110 RBIs. Between 1985 and 1987, Mattingly hit 96 home runs with just 114 strikeouts.

Though Mattingly would recover, recurrent back woes would curtail his statistics, and eventually, his career.

1988 was a decidedly off year for Mattingly, who had just 18 home runs and 88 RBI, but nonetheless was still in the top 10 in the league in batting average at a .311 clip. He rebounded in 1989 to 113 RBI, but his average dipped to .303. Mattingly's five runs scored on April 30, 1988, marked the 12th time it has been done by a Yankee.

Mattingly's back problems flared up anew in 1990; after struggling with the bat, he had to go on the disabled list in July, only returning late in the season for an ineffective finish. His stat line—a .256 average, 5 home runs and 42 RBI in almost 400 at-bats—came as a shock. Mattingly underwent extensive therapy in the offseason, but his hitting ability was never quite the same. Though he averaged .290 over his final five seasons, he became more of a slap hitter, hitting just 53 home runs over that timeframe. Mattingly's defense remained stellar, but he was not always physically able to play.

Mattingly made his major league debut in 1982, the year after the Yankees lost the World Series. The team did not reach the postseason in any of Mattingly's first 13 years, although they arguably would have made the playoffs in 1994, when the player's strike ended the season prematurely with the Yankees having the best record in the American League.

In 1995, Mattingly finally reached the playoffs when the Yankees won the AL wild card on the next-to-last day of the season. In the only postseason series of his career, facing the Seattle Mariners, Mattingly batted .417 with 6 RBI and a memorable go-ahead home run in Game Two, his final game at Yankee Stadium. In the final game of the series (and of his career), Mattingly again broke a tie with a two-run double. The New York bullpen faltered and Seattle won in the 11th inning of the decisive Game Five.

Back with the Yankees
After retiring as a player, Mattingly spent seven seasons as a special instructor during Yankees' spring training in Tampa, Florida from 1997 through 2003. Following the 2003 season, the Yankees named Mattingly the hitting coach. He spent three seasons in that role, receiving much praise from the Yankees organization and his players. Under Mattingly, the Yankees set an all-time franchise record with 242 home runs in 2004. After the 2006 season, Mattingly shifted to bench coach, replacing Lee Mazzilli.

After the 2007 season, Mattingly was a finalist for the Yankee's manager position, after Joe Torre declined a one year contract extension, along with Joe Girardi and Tony Peña. The Yankees offered the managerial position to Girardi, who accepted.

Los Angeles Dodgers
After not being offered the position of manager for the Yankees, Mattingly joined Torre with the Los Angeles Dodgers as the team's hitting coach. On January 22, 2008, Mattingly was replaced as hitting coach, citing family reasons, instead serving as major league special assignment coach for the Dodgers in 2008. Mattingly succeeded Mike Easler as Dodgers' hitting coach that July. The Dodgers were the National League Runner-Up in 2008 and 2009 (losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in both NLCS's), largely behind the bat of mid-season acquisition Manny Ramirez.

In the 2009–10 offseason, Mattingly was a finalist for the managerial position with the Cleveland Indians, for which Manny Acta was eventually hired. When Torre decided to retire at the end of the 2010 season, Mattingly was announced as his replacement. To acquire some managerial experience, Mattingly managed the Phoenix Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League in 2010.

Mattingly made his managerial debut on March 31, by defeating in-state rival and defending champion San Francisco Giants 2-1 at Dodger Stadium. Despite the background of a bitter divorce battle between Dodgers' owner Frank McCourt and his wife that put the fiscal health of the Dodgers into jeopardy, Mattingly managed to take the Dodgers to a winning record that season due to his mentorship of many young players such as MVP candidate Matt Kemp and Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw:

"'He's so positive,' Kershaw said. 'All he asks of us is just go out there and play the way we're supposed to. Do things the right way on the field, and he's happy with you. When it's simple like that, it's easy to play for, and it's fun to play for.'"

Mattingly stated that one of his managerial idols was Tony La Russa. Mattingly admired LaRussa from his playing days with the Yankees in the late 1980s. LaRussa had managed the dominant Oakland Athletics teams of the era. Mattingly recalled that despite the A's superiority to the Yankees, they still played intensely.

Legacy
Mattingly finished his career with 2,153 hits, 222 home runs, 1,099 RBI, and a .307 lifetime average. He is commonly cited as the best Yankee player to have never played in a World Series. His career had bad timing, as the Yankees lost the World Series the year before he broke into the big leagues and they ended up winning the World Series in the first year of Mattingly's retirement, not to mention the Yankees had the best record in the American League in 1994 before the strike. This World Series drought (1982–1995) was the longest in Yankees history since the start of the Babe Ruth era and it was worsened by the player's strike in 1994, which ended a promising chance for a World Series title.

Buck Showalter, Mattingly's last manager during his playing days and a former teammate in the minor leagues, attributed Mattingly's calmness to the controversies he was subjected to during his time with the Yankees.

The Yankees retired Mattingly's number 23 and dedicated his plaque for Monument Park at Yankee Stadium on August 31, 1997. The plaque calls him "A humble man of grace and dignity, a captain who led by example, proud of the pinstripe tradition and dedicated to the pursuit of excellence, a Yankee forever." Mattingly's jersey number (18) was also retired by the Nashville Sounds in 1999.

Hall of Fame Voting
Don Mattingly has been on the Hall of Fame ballot since 2001, but has never received the percentage of votes necessary for election. In his first year, he received 145 votes (28.2%), but this has steadily declined. In 2009, 12% of voters still put him on their ballots.

Personal life
Mattingly married Kim Sexton on September 8, 1979; they are now divorced. They have three sons: Taylor, Preston, and Jordon, two of whom attempted careers at professional baseball. Taylor was drafted in the 42nd round (1262nd overall) of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft by the New York Yankees, and played in 24 games for the Gulf Coast Yankees in the rookie league before an injury cut short his season. After sitting out all of 2004 and 2005, Taylor retired from baseball in 2005 after only 58 professional at bats. Of his eldest son, Don mentioned: "He loved the game, not the lifestyle."

Preston was chosen in the first round (31st overall) of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers and was rated as a B- prospect in John Sickels' 2007 Baseball Prospect Book. Sickels noted, "Position a question but has promising tools and bloodlines." Preston was traded to the Cleveland Indians on September 26, 2010, just nine days after his father was announced as the manager of the Dodgers for the 2011 season. He was subsequently released by the Indians at the end of spring training, and resigned with the Dodgers. On January 11, 2012, the Yankees signed Preston to a minor league contract but they released him again on March 27.

Mattingly remarried on December 10, 2010 in his hometown of Evansville, Indiana. The wedding, as well as his managing the Phoenix Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League, prevented him from attending the Fall 2010 Winter Meetings.

Business ventures
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Don Mattingly was the owner of a restaurant in Evansville, Indiana called "Mattingly's 23", after the uniform number he wore for most of his career.

In 2005, Mattingly launched Mattingly Sports, a baseball and softball equipment company, based primarily around the patented V-Grip baseball and softball bats. After watching his kids and their friends struggle to maintain the proper hitting grip, Don, along with co-inventor Jim Wells, created the V-Grip as a way to ensure the proper alignment of the hands and to keep the bat out in the hitter's fingertips. A third founder, Skip Shaw, was brought in to grow the company into a meaningful player in the baseball and softball equipment marketplace. The V-Grip bats have been approved for game play by all of the major, non-professional leagues and associations including Little League Baseball, Babe Ruth (including Ripken Baseball), Pony League, Dixie Youth, AABC, ASA, USSSA, the National Federation of High Schools, and the NCAA.

Popular culture
Mattingly appeared in a baseball-themed episode of The Simpsons, entitled "Homer at the Bat". In the episode (originally aired on February 20, 1992), team owner Mr. Burns repeatedly demands that Mattingly trim his sideburns, even though Mattingly has no sideburns (and in fact questions Mr. Burns about if he even knows what sideburns are, as well as the fact that Mr. Burns is shown with sideburns). A confused Mattingly returns with 1/3 of his head shaved from one ear over the top of the head to other. The irate Burns cuts him from the team because he would not "trim those sideburns!" As he departs, the exasperated Mattingly says to himself, "I still like him better than Steinbrenner."

In 1991, before the episode aired but after it was produced, then-Yankees manager Stump Merrill told him that until he cut his hair, he would not play. This was in accord with Yankee owner George Steinbrenner's policy requiring his players to maintain well-kept head and facial hair. Mattingly was sporting a longish or mullet-like hair style, and when he refused to cut it, he was benched.

Mattingly has also appeared in public service announcements airing on the Spike TV network advocating fathers spending time with their children as part of the "True Dads" campaign to encourage men to take an active role in their children's lives.

Mattingly is referred to by name in several episodes of Seinfeld. In one memorable episode, his uniform pants split because they were made of 100% cotton at the behest of George Costanza.