After greater than 4 many years in skilled baseball, Don Mattingly goes to the World Sequence for the primary time.
The previous Yankees first baseman, who performed within the Bronx for 14 years with out ever making it to the Fall Basic, punched his ticket on Monday evening when the Blue Jays beat the Mariners, 4-3, in Recreation 7 of the ALCS. With Toronto successful its first pennant in 32 years, Mattingly, the membership’s bench coach, now has his first alternative to win all of it after spending 17 seasons as a coach and 12 extra as a supervisor following his enjoying profession.
The closest Mattingly ever got here as a participant was in 1995, when he and the Yankees made the playoffs within the ultimate 12 months of his profession. Mattingly hit .417 in opposition to Seattle within the ALDS, including the largest residence run of his profession within the Yankees’ Recreation 2 victory. Nonetheless, the Mariners received the subsequent three video games and the sequence, ending Recreation 5 with an Edgar Martínez double that lives on in infamy within the minds of Yankees followers.
Mattingly by no means performed once more after that. A star on some dangerous Yankees groups, these 5 ALDS video games in 1995 marked his solely journey to the postseason as a participant.
“Donnie Baseball” got here even nearer to the World Sequence as an teacher, as Mattingly was Joe Torre’s hitting coach on the 2004 Yankees. That workforce got here a win away from the World Sequence however suffered an unprecedented ALCS collapse by the hands of the curse-breaking Pink Sox.
Mattingly returned to the Championship Sequence a couple of extra occasions with the Dodgers, together with in 2013, when he managed the membership. Alas, the 64-year-old, who additionally managed the Marlins, couldn’t recover from the hump.
Now that he has, one among Mattingly’s former groups stands in the way in which of him successful his first championship. That may be the Dodgers, who wish to repeat after beating the Yankees within the 2024 World Sequence.
With Los Angeles embarrassing the Bombers a 12 months in the past and the Blue Jays tormenting the Yankees all season — they received the AL East and eradicated the pinstripers from postseason play with a four-game ALDS — this World Sequence received’t be straightforward to observe for Yankees followers.
Nonetheless, the potential of Mattingly lastly successful a hoop will encourage some Yankees followers to root for a division rival.
