Who is Don Mattingly, the Philadelphia Phillies' 2026 interim manager?
The Phillies on Tuesday did what teams with championship aspirations do when they don't live up to expectations: fire the manager.
Philadelphia, tied for the worst record in MLB at 9-19, fired Rob Thomson and appointed bench coach Don Mattingly to interim manager through the end of the 2026 season.
Thomson guided the Phillies to four straight postseason appearances, a 2022 NL pennant, two NL East division titles and owns the highest managerial winning percentage in franchise history. But someone had to take the fall for the Phillies' disastrous 2026 start, and like 2022, when Thomson replaced Joe Girardi midseason, it was the manager.
Who is Don Mattingly?
Mattingly joined the Phillies' staff as the bench coach in January after serving three seasons in the same role with the Blue Jays.
The 65-year-old takes over as interim manager with previous managerial experience. He's spent 12 of his 23 seasons of his coaching career as an MLB manager. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2011-15 and the Miami Marlins from 2016-20.
He won the 2020 NL Manager of the Year Award after guiding the Marlins to their first postseason appearance since 2003.
Known as "Donnie Baseball," Mattingly is the father of Phillies vice president and general manager Preston Mattingly and also managed center fielder Justin Crawford's father, Carl Crawford, when he was the Dodgers' manager.
Mattingly also managed Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto in Miami. Realmuto told The Athletic in February that Mattingly is "one of those coaches that brings a different level of respect, just because of the type of player he was and the type of hitter he was."
A star first baseman for the New York Yankees as a player, Mattingly joined the Phils' staff coming off his first World Series appearance in his 39 years of professional baseball. He was the bench coach for the American League pennant-winning Blue Jays last season.
Mattingly never won a World Series in his 17 years as a Yankee and hasn't captured one either in his coaching career.
As a player, Mattingly won the 1985 AL MVP Award and was a six-time All-Star, nine-time Gold Glove first baseman and the face of the Yankees in the 1980s. He served as the Yankees' captain in his final five seasons.
He finished his playing career with a .307 average, 2,153 hits, 222 home runs and 1,099 RBIs. His No. 23 was retired by the Yankees in 1997. Across baseball, Mattingly is often considered one of the best Yankees never to win a World Series.
The Phillies' interim manager is still waiting for his call to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He fell six votes shy of being elected last year by the 16-member Contemporary Baseball Era Committee.
Alex Cora reportedly turned down Phillies' manager job
When the Boston Red Sox fired 2018 World Series-winning manager Alex Cora on Saturday, one didn't have to do much detective work to connect the dots. Cora and Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski have a close relationship.
It was Dombrowski who first hired Cora as Red Sox manager when he was Boston's president of baseball operations.
Well, according to multiple reports, Dombrowski again tried to hire Cora.
The Athletic and USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported that the Phillies offered Cora the manager job before giving Mattingly the interim job, but Cora turned it down. Cora wants to spend time with his family before his next move, Nightengale reported.
While Cora turned down the Phils now, the possibility remains that the club could circle back after the season.
