Don Mattingly has been around professional baseball longer than his son, and current Philadelphia Phillies general manager, Preston Mattingly has been alive.
One thing the former MVP and newly hired bench coach of the Phillies brings to the organization is a shared, passionate desire for the ultimate goal: a World Series championship.
Mattingly narrowly missed out on world championships with his longtime club, the New York Yankees, as a player and then again as a coach, leaving his 43-year career in Major League Baseball without his coveted prize. He fell one game short last season in an identical role with the Toronto Blue Jays before joining his son in Philadelphia – a place that shares Mattingly’s inexpressible desire to leave a championship as a lasting legacy in an era defined by the absence of one.
While his new voice in the clubhouse brings a shared sentiment, Phillies manager Rob Thomson diagnosed a need in his clubhouse that Mattingly clearly brings.
“What Donny brings is something that our coaching staff doesn’t have. We have a great coaching staff. I think we have the best coaching staff in baseball,” Thomson said. “But we don’t have that star player that has played many years and had a lot of success. I think Donny’s going to bring a lot. He’s super intelligent, works hard, he’s the most humble superstar I’ve ever been around, so I’m really excited to have him around.”
Preston Mattingly and Thomson were at ArtsQuest in Bethlehem on Thursday for the annual Phillies Winter Caravan.
Preston Mattingly is excited for a much different reason.
“The early impression is I’m excited that he’s going to finally listen to me, so that’s kind of the main thing,” Mattingly said. “I think he has to listen to me.”
“But, on a serious note, I think what he brings to our club, and our staff, and I know Thomson’s talked about it a lot, is a player that has the experience and the pedigree that players can relate to. Players like Bryce [Harper] and different players that he’s been in their shoes and know what they go through.”
Although his father never took on the role of Vice President and General Manager that he has the honor of fulfilling, Preston Mattingly embraces the most important lessons he’s learned from Don as he attempts to put together a team that can finally bring him and his father the title that’s eluded them both.
“The biggest thing I take from my dad is the way he treated people. And that’s one thing I’ve tried to take forward, and whether it’s players, whether it’s staff members, you know, just treat everybody with respect, no matter what role they’re in,” Mattingly said. “And so I’ve always tried to take that when I, either as a player with our staff, when I was in [player development], and also now in the front office role. I always try to carry that forward and be respectful.”
That can be challenging in a role that requires cutthroat decisions, negotiations on lucrative contracts with the world’s best players and the utilization of young prospects that has become a hot topic with the lack of changes to a roster that continues to come up short in the postseason.
Thomson and Mattingly shared some updates on a few of those players – Andrew Painter, Aidan Miller and Justin Crawford – who earned playing time for the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs this past season.
“Just command,” Thomson said on what he’s looking for Painter to improve upon. “The stuff last year was really good. It was still a super high velocity fastball, the breaking pitches, the changeup, they were all plus pitches. He just got away from the strike zone a little bit and that’s normal coming off of Tommy John (surgery).
“Usually the second year coming off Tommy John, you’re getting back to normal, and that’s what we’re looking for right now.”
The freshly contract extended Phillies manager also made sure another one of his highly touted prospects, Crawford, wasn’t deterred by the signing of powerful right fielder Adolis Garcia.
“I called when we signed Adolis Garcia just to tell him that this doesn’t affect you at all,” Thomson said. “You need to come in there and you need to fight for a spot and have a feeling like you’re a big leaguer. Come in here, relax, be yourself, play your game and don’t try to do something you’re not. He’s going to get home runs at some point but maybe not yet. We want him to get on base, steal bases and do all the little things that he normally does.”
Mattingly expressed a similar sentiment.
“Justin’s a very unique case because I know people cite the groundball rate a lot, which is understandable. I also think a player with his offensive profile … it’s probably advantageous for him to run a little bit higher of a groundball rate,” Mattingly said. “With that said, we’re working on different ways for him to not necessarily hit the ball in the air but on a line a little bit more.”
Beyond the potential additions of these two prospects, or Aidan Miller whose development as a premier base stealer impressed Mattingly, the second-year general manager feels the team improved in critical areas while retaining the premier talent that’s created a consistent contender for the last four seasons.
“Just speaking to Kyle [Schwarber] and J.T. [Realmuto] specifically, I think those guys have been a big part of what we’re doing, not only on the field, but in the clubhouse, and I think we’ve been very cognizant of the players we brought in,” Mattingly said. “I think we’ve continued to add around the edges and we’re going to continue to do that right? One area we felt like we needed to improve was our bullpen. We feel really good about where we’re at right now.
“I think people forget that the team you have on January 22nd is not the team you’re going to have on opening day. And then, obviously, the trade deadline and different things come about, so I think we’re always continuing to look to improve our club, and we’re going to continue to do that up until spring training and then as the year goes on.”
Derek Bast is a freelance sports reporter who can be found on Twitter/X at @derek_bast or reached by email at derekbast11@gmail.com.