After managing the Miami Marlins for seven seasons, Don Mattingly has gone on to other managerial opportunities, but he is keeping a close eye on the club’s strong start through the first 72 games of the season.
Beginning on Monday, Mattingly, who is currently a bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays, made his way back to Miami for a three-game series.
The Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball club from Canada that call the city of Toronto home. The Toronto Blue Jays are a team that plays in Major League Baseball and are a part of the American League East division. Since 1989, the majority of the team’s home games have been played in the Rogers Centre, which is located in the central business district of Toronto.
Mattingly Words
“I’ve been on this side a few different times but it’s been a while since I’ve been on the visiting side,” Mattingly said before the series opener. “It’s always good flying into Miami. It’s one of those places you’ve been long enough you know where you’re at. It’s a good feeling walking into the ballpark, even though it’s a different entrance.”
The performance of Miami has also been different ever since Mattingly left. On Monday, the Marlins had a record of 41-31 and were in second place in the NL East. For the first time since May of 2011, they are 10 games above 500 in their overall record.
Mattingly stated, “Obviously, I’m happy for the guys I had over there,” and he emphasized this sentiment. “And Kim (the general manager) built it the way she wanted it to be built, and she is doing some of the things she wanted to do,” It’s wonderful to watch her doing so much. And we’ll see where this journey takes us. We’ll hopefully run across each other in a really good place.”
The Miami Marlins
The Miami Marlins are a Miami-based American professional baseball franchise. The Marlins are a team in the National League East division of Major League Baseball. LoanDepot Park is the club’s home baseball stadium. The Florida Marlins, the organization debuted in 1993 as an expansion team.
Mattingly, who is 62 years old, and the Marlins management have come to an agreement that they will split ways following the 2022 season. During his seven years with the team, Mattingly led the Marlins to a record of 443-587 during his management.
New ownership of the Miami Marlins decided to make significant organizational changes after two seasons of Don Mattingly’s tenure with the team. Giancarlo Stanton, who won the National League MVP award in 2017, Christian Yelich, who is expected to win the award in the future, and All-Stars J.T. Realmuto and Marcell Ozuna were all traded away for minor league prospects.
As a direct consequence of this, Marlins teams for the rest of Mattingly’s tenure finished dead last in the National League East standings. The only team to break this pattern was the 2020 team, who, while playing fewer games due to the pandemic, nonetheless managed to win the National League Manager of the Year award for Don Mattingly.
Skip Schumaker, who is managing the Marlins for the first time, expressed his gratitude to Don Mattingly for the advice he gave him during the 2013 season when he was playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Before taking over as manager of the Marlins in 2016, Mattingly spent the previous five years leading the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Schumaker Statement
“Donnie was great to me in 2013,” Schumaker remarked. “It was one of my most memorable years while I was playing in the big leagues. He managed the players on the team. The most that sticks out in my mind is that. It was clear that he had a genuine concern for the player. He is a wonderful example of a guy and a human. I’ve picked up a lot of useful information from him.
