The Philadelphia Phillies bolstered their coaching staff Monday morning, hiring Don Mattingly to be the new bench coach, per Jon Heyman.
Mattingly’s contract with the Toronto Blue Jays expired, and there were reports circulating that there was “mutual interest” between the team and “Donnie Baseball” back in December. The 64-year-old brings a plethora of experience to an already strong coaching staff and organization.
He spent the last four seasons as the bench coach for the Blue Jays, working alongside manager John Schneider, and just missed out on winning his first championship after not being able to win a title during his impressive 14-year career with the New York Yankees from 1982 to 1995.
Mattingly also has managerial experience, posting an overall record of 889-950 record (.483). While manning the dugout for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2011 to 2015, he produced a winning record with a 446-363 mark (.551) and ending his tenure in L.A. with three straight NL West division titles. From 2016 to 2022, he managed the Miami Marlins, posting a .430 winning percentage, going 443-587.
In the postseason, however, Mattingly won just eight games, with just one series win coming back in 2013 with the Dodgers.
“I think it’d be awesome,” Rob Thomson said regarding the possibility of Mattingly joining his staff. “I think it’s a perfect fit for a ball club. Just his intelligence and presence and experience. It would be a really good fit.”
Mattingly has a close relationship with Thomson, who was the Yankees' first base coach for six seasons before becoming the bench coach prior to the 2015 season, where he held that position until the end of 2017. His son, Preston, became the Phillies’ general manager in 2024.
The 1985 AL MVP was regarded as one of the best hitters of his era, but injuries cut his career short. Mattingly has been a topic of discussion in terms of if his playing career warrants a call to Cooperstown. Playing in 1,785 games, he finished as a career .307 hitter with an .830 OPS to go with 222 home runs and 1,099 RBIs. He was a six-time All-Star, a nine-time Gold Glove winner and a three-time Silver Slugger winner.
He now brings his wealth of knowledge of the game and in-game managing experience to the Phillies as they too look to end their World Series drought.
