PHILADELPHIA — Don Mattingly thew in the towel on his managerial career and all but had retired from baseball after he left his bench coach job with Toronto following the World Series.
Prodded by his son, Mattingly decided to give baseball another go, and accepted a job over the winter as Philadelphia’s bench coach, where he would be reunited with his old friend from their New York Yankees days in manager Rob Thomson.
But manage again when the Yankees great known as Donnie Baseball was about to turn 65?
“I don’t think I have the energy for that anymore,” Mattingly said in January.
Mattingly seemed candid about his future at the time because all logic and recent history showed that he was joining a heavyweight World Series contender in Philadelphia. Why even toss around the idea of ever filling out a lineup card again, especially with a high-priced, postseason-tested roster brimming with talent including Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Zack Wheeler?
Fast forward four months and the Phillies’ season has come to this: Mattingly’s last best shot at winning his first World Series ring after more than 40 years in baseball starts with managing one of the worst teams in the National League.
Mattingly indeed is the manager for the rest of the season, taking the interim job hours after the Phillies fired Thomson — and openly flirted with the idea of replacing him with former Red Sox manager Alex Cora — with the stout belief that a championship team beats in the heart of this underachieving roster.
The job either comes with a perk or the potential for awkwardness with Mattingly also the father of his new boss, Phillies general manager Preston Mattingly.
“I know how competitive he is,” Mattingly said. “Him and I are a little different. He looks at things, he’s a little outside the box at times, which I appreciate. It’s helped me grow.”
Also give 11-year-old son Louis Mattingly the bulk of the credit for flipping dad’s decision in the offseason.
Mattingly — who wore a white pinstriped suit in the 1980s Hit Man poster that was a staple in many a 1980s New York kid’s bedroom — is off to a fine start in Philly.
Thomson, who led the Phillies to four straight postseason berths, including the 2022 World Series, still would have his job had Philadelphia regularly played as well at it did in a 7-0 win over San Francisco in Mattingly’s debut.
“I’m going to watch our game,” Thomson said in a video call with reporters shortly before the game. “I really am.”
Thomson surely enjoyed the result — even if it perhaps came with a bit of frustration the Phillies failed to play more consistent complete games throughout April.
Turner became the first Phillie all season with a four-hit game. Jesús Luzardo, just two starts after the lefty allowed nine runs and 12 hits against the Cubs, tossed two-hit ball, struck out eight and walked none over seven shutout innings. He teamed with two relievers for the Phillies’ first shutout of the season.
The Phillies lost 10 straight games and 11 of 12 in Thomson’s final stretch of an otherwise successful tenure. Mattingly kept the coaching staff intact — notably beleaguered hitting coach Kevin Long, who took most of the heat for the Phillies’ woes — and third base coach Dusty Wathan was promoted to bench coach.
“I don’t know if I’m a whole lot different from Rob, honestly,” Mattingly said. “I trust players, I believe in players, I like players. But I want us to play better baseball.”
Mattingly, who managed the Dodgers from 2011-15 and the Marlins from 2016-22, also didn’t seem to mind he was Philadelphia’s second managerial choice.
Dave Dombrowski, the Phillies’ president of baseball operations, made it clear Cora was his first choice to succeed Thomson. Dombrowski ran the front office in Boston when Cora managed the Red Sox to a World Series championship in 2018. A Philly reunion made sense on paper, though Cora ultimately passed.
“I came to the conclusion that if he took it, I would make a change. I thought he would take it,” Dombrowski said. “Until Monday morning it was apparent from his perspective he wanted to take time with his family. He wanted to be a father first and foremost and so that’s what he had decided.”
The Phillies’ woes stretch way beyond the manager.
From former All-Star third baseman Alec Bohm to second baseman Bryson Stott, the Phillies underperformed for a team with $284.7 million payroll. The Phillies are aging and the rotation was a disaster — which led to the decision to release Taijuan Walker — all part of a recipe for a team that used their most recent win to move to 10-19.
The Phillies, of course, have been here before, notably in 2022 when Dombrowski fired Joe Girardi after a 22-29 start and they went 65-46 the rest of the season under Thomson. The schedule works in Mattingly’s favor to duplicate that run with nine of the next 13 games at home with only the Athletics (out of three other teams) holding a winning record.
Mattingly thought he was out. He’s now all the way back in — and the Phillies’ World Series hopes are firmly pinned on a manager who’s never won one.
“This is not about how I’m going to do,” Mattingly said. “It’s really about club.”
