Don Mattingly Biography

"Donnie Baseball"

Don Mattingly (nicknamed "Donnie Baseball" and "The Hit Man") was a star left-handed first baseman for the New York Yankees of the American League from 1982-1995. Don's Major League career as a player totaled more than 11 years. After his playing career, Don served as hitting coach for the New York Yankees from 2004 to 2006, then as their bench coach in 2007, before joining the Los Angeles Dodgers as a member of the Dodgers' coaching staff.

Don received the following awards:

Gold Glove - 85- 89, 91- 94
American League MVP - 1985
Batting Champion - 1984
Hits Leader - 1984, 1986

Don grew up in Evansville, Indiana and was one of the nation's top prospects as a high school player at Reitz Memorial High School in 1979, even earning a brief write-up in Sports Illustrated magazine. However, Major League Baseball teams were sure he was going to college and didn't draft him. The Yankees took a chance, and were able to sign Mattingly after selecting him in the 19th round of the 1979 amateur draft.

The sweet-swinging lefty immediately proved it was a wise decision, terrorizing opposing pitchers. He batted .349 in 1979, .358 in 1980, .316 in 1981 and made it to the majors late in the 1982 season after batting .315 for Triple-A Columbus.

Mattingly spent his official rookie season of 1983 as a part-time first baseman and outfielder, waiting for a full-time spot to open up in the lineup. That opportunity came in 1984, when he become the Yankees' full time first baseman, switched his uniform number to 23 and was an MVP candidate. He hit .343 and beat out teammate Dave Winfield for the American League batting title by getting 4 hits in 5 at-bats on the last day of the season, while slugging a league-leading 44 doubles to go with 23 home runs and 110 RBI.

He followed that up with a spectacular 1985 season, winning the MVP award in the American League; he batted .324 with 35 home runs, 48 doubles and 145 RBI, then the most RBI in a season by a major league batter since Ted Williams hit 159 in 1949. Don may have been even better in 1986, when he led the AL with 238 hits and in doubles (for the third straight year) with 53. He also batted .352, hit 31 home runs and drove in 113 runs. However, he was beat out in the American League MVP voting by pitcher Roger Clemens, who also won the Cy Young Award that year.

In 1987, Mattingly tied a major league record by hitting home runs in eight consecutive games and set an American League record by getting an extra base hit in ten consecutive games. Also in 1987, he set a major league record by hitting six grand slam home runs in a season. One of the most amazing statistics about Mattingly was how rarely he struck out, with his seasonal strikeouts barely exceeding his homeruns from 1984-1987 (33, 41, 35 and 38).

Mattingly remained among the game's best first basemen throughout the 1980s, winning the Gold Glove Award for his fielding and a spot on the American League All-Star team each year in the mid to late 1980s.

The Yankees retired his number 23 and dedicated his plaque for Monument Park at Yankee Stadium on August 31, 1997. The plaque calls him "A humble man of grace and dignity, a captain who led by example, proud of the Pinstripe tradition and dedicated to the pursuit of excellence, a Yankee forever." After the 2003 season, Mattingly was hired by the Yankees to be their batting coach, a post he held until being promoted to bench coach in 2007.

Don Mattingly married Kim Sexton on September 8, 1979. They have 3 sons: Taylor, Preston, and Jordan. Taylor was drafted in the 42nd round (1262nd overall) of the 2003 MLB draft by the New York Yankees. He played one season in the rookie league before an injury cut short his baseball career. Preston Mattingly was chosen in the first round (31st overall) of the June 2006 MLB draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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