WHY MATTINGLY WAS BORN TO BE A YANKEE

FIRST BASE

"A Humble Man of Grace and Dignity. A Captain Who Led by Example. Proud of the Pinstripes Tradition and Dedicated to the Pursuit of Excellence. A Yankee Forever." -- Plaque in Monument Park

#2. That dedication is to the New York Yankees, Donald Arthur Mattingly. First Baseman. Number 23. The second greatest Yankee to play position number three on your scorecard.

When asked this year about his greatest moment as a Yankee, Mattingly replied, “Probably the biggest… going out to run the first game of the playoffs in ’95. The place was just jammed. It was crazy. And I really felt like I was fast that day. And when I ran, I really felt like I could run.”

Mattingly has the numbers to be second on this list. But it's not only the numbers, it's his passion to play hard and love the fans as much has they loved him that catapults him to #2. Dwight Gooden once said of Donnie: "I'm glad I don't have to face that guy every day. He has that look that few hitters have. I don't know if it's his stance, his eyes or what, but you can tell he means business."
Without getting too bogged down with statistics, he had more power than the guys who were winning batting titles, but less power than the players winning home run crowns. But Donnie hit for both power and average. Donnie's batting performance from 1984-89 can compare to any stretch of any player. Add a Gold Glove for each of those years, and you have an all-time 6-year performance.

But it was his 1985 MVP season that was truly legendary: 107 runs, 211 hits, 48 doubles, 35 HR, 145 RBI, .324 average.

In 1987, Mattingly put his name on two unique records. He tied Dale Long’s record of hitting a home run in 8 consecutive games. Also, Donnie Baseball set the record for slugging six grand slams in one season. Ironically, these were the only slams Mattingly ever hit.

Another unusual circumstance involved his fielding. Just how good was this guy with the glove? Remember in 1986 against Seattle? Yankee manager, Lou Piniella started Mattingly at THIRD BASE! He played in three games at the Hot Corner during the series.

Now awards are nice, but these honors never tell the whole story. There are Yankees much more decorated than Mattingly, but don’t come close to receiving the love the faithful have for him. It’s kind of like this: Would you rather win some "Man of the Year" Award or be the
man whose family absolutely loves him and he absolutely loves his family? I pick a loving family over some plaque on the wall every second of every day.

When it comes down to the absolute bare essentials, the fans are more important than the players. Fans are the lifeblood of the game. It's our money that keeps the game going. Very simply, if no fans came to games or watched them on TV, professional baseball would fold. Fans
matter and are important. No one got that more than Donnie Baseball. You ever go to a baseball card show? Some players just keep their heads down and keep pen to paper signing whatever is put in front of them. Not Donnie. He loves the fans and understands the fan’s perspective and said, "This guy is working all week and he brings his son to this show, has to pay $2 to get in, maybe $5 for a picture and then $6 for an autograph. These guys have to think you're a real ass with your head down all the time signing."
OK, so maybe he came up short of winning a World Series. And maybe he came up short for the Hall of Fame. But for an entire generation of Yankee fans who grew up rooting for Don Mattingly, he is and always will be their most loved Yankee. And when comes down to it, isn’t that what’s most important?


--Moonlight Graham BYB Staff Writer

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