Phillies hire Don Mattingly as bench coach, reuniting him with GM son Preston

Key Highlights

• You’ve got to keep going,’” Mattingly said with a laugh.
• “I was like, oh, I don’t know about this.
• But that kind of helped change it a little bit, because I do worry about him missing school and all that stuff that he does.”The 64-year-old Mattingly decided he had more to give the game after the Blue Jays lost the World Series in seven games to the Los Angeles Dodgers. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMattingly gets to chase that ring working for his son, his friend from their old Yankees days in Thomson and maybe even help Bryce Harper — an MVP and a first baseman like Mattingly — regain his elite form. Mattingly, who will be spending his 23rd straight season as a major league manager and coach, left his role as Toronto’s bench coach under manager John Schneider after the World Series.“I felt like my mission going to Toronto was, in a sense, accomplished from the standpoint of just helping a young manager get started, who’s really talented, a really good manager,” Mattingly said.
• “I knew that part of my job was going to be finished.”Mattingly replaced Mike Calitri, who became the Phillies’ major league field coordinator. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“I just think we’re adding a great voice, a guy that’s had a lot of experience doing this, great pedigree and we’re adding really solid, solid guy to a great coaching staff,” Thomson said. Mattingly managed the Dodgers from 2011-15 and the Marlins from 2016-22.
• He was the 2020 NL Manager of the Year after he led the Marlins to their first playoff appearance since 2003. He said he no longer had interest in managing again.“I don’t think I have the energy for that anymore,” Mattingly said. Mattingly played 14 seasons as a first baseman in the major leagues, all for the Yankees, from 1982-95.