Don Mattingly, the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, may be in command of a major league bench this season. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that Mattingly, who is now the Toronto Blue Jays bench coach, may take on the role of team manager.
“The Toronto Blue Jays are one of baseball’s most underachieving teams once again, languishing in last place, with manager John Schneider on the hot seat,” wrote Nightengale in a Sunday piece. If the Blue Jays continue to struggle and Schneider is made into a scapegoat, Don Mattingly is expected to take Schneider’s place.
John Schneider, in his third season as manager, could be replaced by Mattingly.
Mattingly spent two seasons as a player with Toronto. The sixty-three-year-old is more of a “offensive coordinator” than a bench coach. In addition, Mattingly oversees the team’s video coordinator and hitting instructors.
From 2016 to 22 Mattingly was the Miami Marlins’ manager. His seven seasons (443-587) at South Beach were unimpressive; he played just one postseason game there.
Mattingly played with the Los Angeles Dodgers for five seasons before to moving to Miami. The previous owner, Frank McCourt, was a frugal man, but even though he finished over $500 each season, his first two years on the bench were difficult. Mattingly led the Dodgers to three straight division victories over the following three years. Despite their best efforts, the Dodgers were unable to go past the division stage twice and secure the World Series title.
Dave Roberts, their personal favorite, succeeded Mattingly as general manager one year after Farhan Zaidi was appointed as president of baseball operations and Andrew Friedman as president. Mattingly had a 446-363 record and a 551 win percentage when he left Los Angeles.
