Comments on: Why would any team want Mattingly for a manager?

By: Nelia Korba

Nelia Korba — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:49:15 +0000

I think that background checks should be classified based on how deep they are.

By: fastest internet connection

fastest internet connection — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:06:32 +0000

Wow I found this on Google poking around for something totally unrelated, now I’m going to need to go the old posts. So much for free time this morning, but this was a really great find.

By: Hank Smith

Hank Smith — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:53:06 +0000

This is a great background check service to check on any and all of any potential sex offenders living near you.

By: Timothy Rusher

Timothy Rusher — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 13:12:39 +0000

A good background check service is difficult to find.

By: George

George — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:52:37 +0000

It’s reasonable to think that Mattingly’s baseball savvy, character and temperment are likely to translate into his being a good manager. It’s reasonable to make the point that he has no managerial experience, so we won’t know how good/bad he can be until he actually tries it. It’s reasonable to question whether his family situation has calmed down enough so that it wouldn’t be a distraction to him in managing. But it’s illogical and unfair to analogize questions regarding one’s “ability to manage a family” (whatever that means) to uncertainty as to whether he can be a good baseball manager. Certainly, we all know of people with difficult family situations who succeed professionally. What should have been a pretty straightforward piece, analyzing the pros and cons of giving Mattingly his shot at managing and guessing how it might turn out, took a wrong turn and ended up looking like a series of low blows relating to a man’s family.

By: Vincent Giannotti

Vincent Giannotti — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:58:34 +0000

Paul V,
Your comments are right on. Posada, Jeter, Pettite and Bernie owe a lot to the influences of Mattingly. Textiera also admired and emulated him. As far as having no experience in handling a pitching staff, I think he would do fine if he brings in a strong and experienced pitching coach. Would the Nationals be any worse off with him as their manager?

By: Paul V.

Paul V. — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:43:42 +0000

You have to be kidding me if you don’t think Mattingly will make an incredible manager. You obviously never watched him play. He was practically a manager on the field, during a time when the Yankees’ had several awful managers (see Stump Merrill). Mattingly’s effect on the team can still be seen. Players like Posada, Jeter and Pettite owe a lot to Mattingly who was a great role model for them to emulate. And if it wasn’t for Mattingly, a pretty decent centerfielder by the name of Bernie Williams might not have lasted a year in the Bronx. It was Mattingy who taught him how to hold his ground and fend off the taunts of Mell Hall, who at the time was bullying the young Williams…Just because he doesn’t stick his face in a computer for hours doesn’t mean he can’t manage a game. Mattingly has something called instinct which worked pretty well for a lot of baseball men before the computer age sucked the “gut instinct” out of the game.

By: Jimmy Beantown

Jimmy Beantown — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:25:09 +0000

I’m a lifelong Red Sox fan and you are an idiot for writing something like this. Maybe the wife is the one out of control with her personal issues and the son has emotionally had enough. That isnt an excuse for laying your hands on a woman but dont draw the line to Mattingly as being a bad family manager and therefore a bad baseball manager. What a crock. You must be awfully bored to write something as trashy as this.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:45:22 +0000

I think you’re taking cheap shots at the man’s private life. His wife obviously suffers from mental illness and the ability to “manage” (your word) a family is not analagous to managing a team. When you have a deranged, violent, mentally ill spouse, you deal as best you can and suffer the consequences of a situation oyu didn’t create and can neither control or fix. When you have a deranged, mentall ill, violent player, you trade him like the Red Sox did with Manny, and he becomes someone else’s problem. See? Not the same options available.

By: Matthew Pouliot

Matthew Pouliot — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:25:20 +0000

Torre started out his managerial career 286-420 with the Mets. That’s the equivalent of a 66-96 season.
Of course, he wasn’t blessed with a lot of talent. But talk to anyone who was around back then and they’ll tell you it took quite some time for Torre to become a quality manager. In fact, a lot of people thought the Yankees made a bad choice in bringing him in.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:06:52 +0000

I’m pretty sure Mattingly isn’t the first one to have family issues and work in the Major Leagues. Also, there are several managers that didn’t manage in the minors. Joe Torre is one of them. Why not give him a shot?

By: pool

pool — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 09:59:40 +0000

you are a p.o.s…what kind of article is this? Don’t you have anything better to write than hash up someone’s personal life? I think you should sumbit this to the National Enquirer. They looking for junk talent like yours.

By: Mike Hunt

Mike Hunt — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 09:34:54 +0000

The vestibule of life can often be seen from the radar of a young girl in a pink skirt. Matteningly was one of these men.

By: john

john — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:28:26 +0000

If teams take on the persona of their managers, then Mattingly would be a terrific manager. He didn’t have the glaring skillset of some of his contemporaries such as Darryl Strawberry, but the one thing Mattingly had that they didn’t was a burning desire and work ethic to become better than his skills would dictate. He was a very low round draft pick with no hoopla but worked his tail off to become what he was. I don’t think it was so much Bob Shirley as the amount of time and effort Mattingly put in on his swing and defence that caused his back problems. I don’t think a Mattingly coached team would ever lose because they weren’t working hard and getting the most out of themselves, Donnie Baseball would see to it.

By: hop

hop — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:17:02 +0000

I guess we are supposed to forget how bad the Yankee pitching was during almost all of Mattingly’s career, to blame him for them not winning back in the 80′s is the opinion of someone who just doesnt know any better. Once again one is left to ask how why does MSNBC print this joker’s opinion on anything? amazing

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:56:43 +0000

There are not many people or situations where i would blindly say “I’ll take my chances” but Mattingly is one. I was a die hard Yankee fan growing up during his reign so i am obviously biased but Donny Baseball was the incarnation of everything it meant ot be a professional. I say (especially in Washington), wy not give him the opportunity? However, if I was a general manager it would trouble me that he wasn’t wiling to manage in the minors – but if I was a hall of fame quality player I wouldn’t want to spend any time away from the big leagues either no matter what position I held

By: JimC

JimC — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:20:28 +0000

I guess the writer is one of those men who knows how to “control’
women- you beat them until they do what they’re told- right buddy?
There are psychologically damaged people and it sounds like Mattingly’s wife is one of those. There is no handling someone like that- although he did take the time to try. Resigning as a hitting coach doesn’t mean he would resign if he were a manager- hitting coaches aren’t even always good hitters- he was. Mantle never managed- Mays never managed- the Babe wanted to manage but nobody else wanted him- great players rarely make good managers- they have no patience with ordinary players. Mattingly was a great hitter but since his teams didn’t win, the ego is probably knocked out of him and that would allow him to b e a good manager. The writer of this article however is doomed to be an also ran.

By: Ditto

Ditto — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:27:13 +0000

That’s fair.

By: Alan

Alan — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:24:51 +0000

Matthew, you are such a hack! It is unbelievable that you bring his personal family issues of children who may be under the influence of drugs, pimps, bad judgement, and other external influences. It is something else to read your trash and the human waste of a writer who could not understand these issues that all human beings have. I hope your family sees you for the snake in the grass that you are?

By: Alan

Alan — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:24:10 +0000

By: Matthew Pouliot

Matthew Pouliot — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:45:31 +0000

All three were catchers and spent most of their careers working with pitchers, getting a feel for when they’re tired and so on. Catchers have definitely had a lot of success as managers lately.
Unlike the other two, Torre, who also spent much of his career playing third base, wasn’t considered a great handler of pitchers. Of course, he was a pretty brutal manager early on.

By: Ditto

Ditto — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:30:42 +0000

I just did a quick Google search on this so I may be wrong, but Torre, Scioscia, and Girardi all lacked managerial experience before they became managers.
How does one get this experience? Don’t all new managers lack this experience?
And the family leave? It is low to be “wary of the fact” that he did the right thing.

By: Matthew Pouliot

Matthew Pouliot — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:00:00 +0000

The family problems aren’t necessarily a reason not to hire him, though I’d certainly be wary of the fact that he’s previously stepped away from commitments because of them.
I’m just asking for some good reasons to hire him. He’s never managed a pitching staff in his life, and there’s not much reason to think he’d be any good at it.

By: alyce Iavarone

alyce Iavarone — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:38:34 +0000

It was a pleasure watching Don for many years. As you know his career was shortened because of an injury to his back received by Bob Shirley, an insignificant relief pitcher. In fact, if you all remember, following his escapades, although I am sure he felt horrible about the injury to Don, nobody ever heard of Bob Shirley again. I always felt that Don was positive for the Yankees. He was an excellent 1st baseman and timely hitter, but the teams he was on had players that were scraping the bottom at best. So, the individual who made the comment about Don during those years with the Yankees, cannot possibly think the teams would have been any different when the scouts were finding players who I am sure many do not remember (i.e., Gary Ward?). As to his personal life, that is exactly what it is and should remain and should not be factored into whether he can coach any kind of baseball team.
Hey, all you critics out there. I think you should try managing a major league baseball team.

By: mkeryan

mkeryan — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:36:29 +0000

And for the record, I’m a White Sox fan with little to no opinion or input on Don’s playing days, so i have no attachment to Mattingly.

By: mkeryan

mkeryan — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:34:11 +0000

Matthew,
I like almost everything you do/write. But this seems like a hack piece Plashke would write.
Citing him not making the playoffs as a player is weak at best. He was one player on not very good teams most of that time.
Citing family issues is, to me, really questionable. You are citing only the instances (police reports), not the cause or root of problems. You don’t know his wife’s issues, his son’s issues. Seems like a bad decision to even go down that avenue.
Talk about his baseball acumen or lack thereof. don’t try to make a baseball team and family life analogous.
And just for fodder, Andy Reid is widely thought of as a very good football coach despite his family’s publicly known problems. And maybe the family life is what it is because athletes and coaches are, you know, never home.

By: steve

steve — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:56:08 +0000

That’s why you are a writer and not in a position to hire a manager.

By: Joey B

Joey B — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:38:35 +0000

As a long-time confirmed Yankee hater, I have nothing but respect for Mattingly. Paul O’Neill said it best. When asked about the Yankees success post-Mattingly, he said that all the young players on the team grew up admiring and emulating Mattingly, and so that it was still very much Mattingly’s team, even if he no longer played for them.
There a lot of players still on the Yankees for 15 years that have developed a style for the Yankees, based on Don Mattingly. His lack of a mangerial background is slightly troubling, but he also strikes me as someone that will surround himself with good coaches, and have enough control over his ego to allow those coaches to do what they do best.