Phillies’ Don Mattingly finds himself where he didn’t plan to be
Says he just wants to support the players
Delaware County Daily Times: https://tinyurl.com/4fjs9jud
PHILADELPHIA — Hours after taking over as Phillies interim manager, Don Mattingly was in a familiar spot: at first base next to a bucket of baseballs, helping run pregame infield/outfield practice.
“I’m always in the role that I was in in the past or, you know, before this happened,” he said Tuesday. “I’m the support staff, right?”
“Donnie Baseball” — an iconic former player who was king of New York with the Yankees for most of a decade in the mid-1980s through the early ‘90s — signed on as Phillies bench coach before spring training. He neither expected nor wanted to become the new skipper.
“Dave asked. That’s pretty much it,” Mattingly said of accepting the managerial job, referencing team president Dave Dombrowski, who let Rob Thomson go Tuesday morning. The gig likely won’t extend beyond this season, win or lose, but who knows?
“I came in here not wanting to be in front, knowing how good these guys were and the style of play they had, never feeling comfortable with the lead — things like that,” Mattingly said. “I love Topper.”
Mattingly, whose son Preston is the Phillies’ general manager and Dombrowski’s right-hand man, previously managed the Dodgers and Marlins. Most recently he was bench coach with the Toronto Blue Jays, who lost a classic seven-game World Series to the Dodgers last fall.
He is third in a succession of former Yankees to serve as Phillies manager, starting with Joe Girardi in 2020, then Thomson, who took over in June of 2022.
“I don’t think they’re looking for ex-Yankees, right? We’re trying to win games at this point,” Mattingly said of the Phillies.
But the 65-year-old former first baseman, whose plaque in Yankee Stadium’s vaunted Monument Park sits between Reggie Jackson’s and Ron Guidry’s, said he feels like he has begun to develop a rapport with many players here — even if he’s still getting to know some of them — thanks to his support role.
“While you’re doing that (role), you know, you have conversations with players,” Mattingly said. “I like these guys. … I want to have more conversations.”
During a whirlwind day after Thomson’s firing, Mattingly did address the team as a whole.
“Really what we talked about was us being ourselves and playing good baseball,” he said. “It’s about doing all the little things — getting ahead in counts, being aggressive on the bases, good at-bats up and down the lineup. All those things contribute to wins.
“You feel this coming,” he added after Tuesday night’s 7-0 victory over San Francisco, which saw the Phillies crack 11 hits while Jesús Luzardo tossed seven dazzling innings. “I’ve been around long enough to feel the last game in Chicago (April 23, an 8-7 loss in extras) — the fight. The games in Atlanta (April 24-26), we had a chance to win two out of three there. … This has been coming.
“You know when you have this type of talent, it’s there and it’s coming.”
Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper, who played in the World Baseball Classic in March, said he’s still becoming familiar with Mattingly as both a man and a manager.
“I haven’t really been around him too much, just because I was out of spring training” Harper said. “Obviously, the last three weeks I’ve been around him, but just still trying to get to know him as a person and a professional as well.
“He’s one of the best first basemen to ever play the game, played in a tough environment in the Bronx. He’s got a lot of stuff in that head to help us play better and things like that. We’re looking forward to turning the page (after Harper gave considerable deference to Thomson), and hopefully it starts to roll a little bit.”
Almost immediately after the Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora and five coaches last weekend in a Saturday night massacre in Boston, Dombrowski called Cora to try bringing him to the Phillies. The two won a championship together in Boston in 2018 and have a close relationship. But Cora ultimately declined, at least for now, wanting to take some time away with his family.
It was after this series of events that Dombrowski turned to Mattingly, who made third-base coach Dusty Wathan his bench coach and promoted Triple-A Lehigh Valley manager Anthony Contreras to fill Wathan’s previous role.
Dombrowski said he never considered replacing any of the coaching staff himself — which seems difficult to fathom — and left it up to Mattingly.
“He was very supportive of the coaching staff. He wanted to keep the coaching staff together,” Dombrowski said.
Mattingly concurred: “I have confidence in everyone in there,” he said.
The Phillies, with a $311 million payroll, entered the homestand against the Giants 28th in the majors in runs (102), 29th in batting average (.219), 29th in on-base percentage (.294), 27th in slugging (.362), last in productive-out percentage (19.4) and tied for 20th in stolen bases (11).
They were also last in starter ERA (5.80), 26th in team WHIP (1.47) and 29th in opponents’ batting average (.280).
The offensive issues have been the most glaring, not only this year but in recent postseasons. Yet hitting coach Kevin Long — with whom many players, including Harper, Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber, have longstanding relationships — has been immune to staffing changes. He’s another former Yankee, for whom Aaron Judge and Alex Rodriguez have strongly advocated.
“Kevin Long, if you ask around the big leagues, is one of the best hitting coaches in baseball. Has been for a long time. We’ve had multiple issues. It’s not just hitting. We need to play better baseball. Pretty much as simple as that.
“I really like the continuity of the staff, and I want to keep it like that.
“If you truly look in the mirror, this club, with the talent we have, we know we haven’t performed to what we’re capable of. I know how good these guys are, and we just have to go prove that. We can talk about it all we want, and we can put things on paper all we want, but we have to go play.”
Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X and Threads at @the_defranc.