How Philadelphia rekindled Don Mattingly's desire to manage again originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Don Mattingly is not a meteorologist, but he knows how to read the wind. He knows it was blowing in the direction of Alex Cora, knows that Cora was Dave Dombrowski’s guy, knows that he would not have received a two-year contract to manage the Phillies if Cora had interest in getting back in the game.
Mattingly, in the words of J.T. Realmuto, “turned our season around,” when he took over the 2026 Phillies as interim manager in late April. The team posted a 79-55 record under him, fourth-best in the majors from that point until the end of the season, and tied a franchise record by making the playoffs for a fifth straight year.
And, yet, Mattingly had to wait until Dombrowski felt out Cora and touched base with a couple of other potential candidates, before being named skipper last week.
Some baseball men, especially those of Mattingly’s accomplishment in the game, might not have handled Dombrowski’s tack well. They might have attached an ice pack to their bruised feelings, cued up Johnny Paycheck’s famous song from 1977, and moved on.
But Mattingly didn’t.
“I never felt slighted,” he said as his new deal became official last week. “I want what’s best for the Phillies. If Dave thought that was moving forward (with Cora), then I was going to be good with that. I don’t have an ego that says I have to be whatever. I just don’t need it. So, I’m thrilled to be back and honored that they have faith in me to do the job.”
It’s not difficult to believe Mattingly when he says he wants what’s best for the Phillies. His son, Preston, works under Dombrowski as the team’s general manager. What dad doesn’t want what’s best for his son? Don Mattingly managed the Phillies for just over five months in 2026. In that time, he was never anything but humble and sincere. When the man says he wasn’t slighted, you believe him. He has experience in being underestimated and has handled it well.
“You know, I was a 19th round pick,” he said. “I got passed over by a lot of guys before they drafted me, so there were a lot of players I was behind.”
Mattingly was a standout high school baseball and basketball player back home in Evansville, Indiana. He was ticketed to play both sports at Indiana State before the New York Yankees made him the 493rd selection in the 1979 draft. Pretty good pick, those Yankees made. Mattingly went on to win an American League MVP award and a batting title. He made six All-Star teams and won nine Gold Gloves. He earned the kind of nickname – Donnie Baseball – that they only give the great ones. He is one of the all-time beloved Yankees, a little like Chase Utley is in the 215 area code. His No. 23 is retired by the club. He’s received strong consideration for the Hall of Fame in recent Contemporary Era elections (he received eight and six votes, respectively, of a necessary 12 in the last two) and still might get there.
All in all, not bad for a 493rd pick.
“You just have to keep going and show them what you can do,” Mattingly said. “To me, it’s stay humble, keep working and worry about winning games.
“I have a lot of confidence in myself. I don’t talk like that. But inside, I’m confident in the way I go about my business. I’m probably not always perfect, but I’m pretty confident.”
Mattingly, 65, previously managed in Los Angeles with the Dodgers and in Miami. The 2027 season will be his 14th as a big-league skipper.
Prior to joining the Phillies as bench coach last winter, Mattingly was bench coach for three seasons in Toronto. He considered retiring after Toronto, but was talked into joining the Phillies by Dombrowski. At the time he was hired as Phillies bench coach, Mattingly said he was done managing, that he had no desire to do it again. He took over the role on an interim basis at Dombrowski’s request after Rob Thomson was let go in April. In time, his desire to manage again was rekindled.
“I’m excited about being in Philly,” he said. “I think it’s what made me want to manage again. I enjoy the environment. It’s kind of how I grew up playing professionally. I’ve been other places, but this feels more like my personality. What I feel inside, the fans, the fanbase, is more of what I feel about playing and how you should go about it.
“It’s not a cupcake environment. It’s an environment with a lot of expectations and a desire to know what’s going on. Why did you do this? Why did you do that? And I appreciate all of that.”
Though Mattingly experienced regular-season success in 2026, he said it never felt as if the team was fully his.
It will be in 2027, once there’s labor peace between the owners and the players.
He’d like to see the Phillies “play faster,” with players like Trea Turner and Justin Crawford looking to steal more bases. He will emphasize defense. That’s already a big offseason talking point with Dombrowski demanding better defense at shortstop from Turner – or else.
“There are things I want to do differently,” Mattingly said. “It’s hard to score in today’s game. So, defense is a premium. It’s an area I would really like to push.”
With Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola and Andrew Painter “our starting pitching is as good as anyone in baseball,” Mattingly said. “So, we need to catch the ball, limit extra outs, play a game where we get as much as we possibly can out of our pitching.”
Mattingly will be part of organizational meetings this week as Dombrowski and his top lieutenants put together a plan to get the Phillies back to the postseason for a sixth straight year in 2027. Left unsaid is the team needs to last longer than one round in 2027. The goal remains simple: World Series or bust. Mattingly has never won one – as a player or a manager – and the desire to do so lives deep in his soul.
It is, above all, what drives him.
