Don Mattingly was hired on Wednesday to fill the job he previously said he didn’t aspire to: manager of the Philadelphia Phillies.

After the 2025 season and their run to the World Series, the Toronto Blue Jays lost Mattingly, their bench coach, to the same role with the Phillies.

During his introductory news conference in Philly in January, Mattingly said he did not intend to manage again, thinking he didn’t have the energy to do the job at age 65. In fact, he had thought he would retire after the World Series but instead took the Philadelphia job thinking about two of his sons: 11-year-old Louis, who wanted him to stay in baseball, and Preston, the general manager of the Phillies.

Mattingly arrived in Philadelphia with 12 years’ experience as an MLB manager with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2011-15) and Miami Marlins (2016-22).

So, Mattingly joined the Phillies, and on April 28 was named interim manager when president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski decided to oust Rob Thomson after the team started 9-19.

And what happened? Mattingly led a turnaround, guiding the Phillies to a 79-55 record and a place in the National League wild-card round.

Now, there is no more “interim” in front of his name, with Mattingly signing a two-year contract on Wednesday.

Mattingly arrived in Toronto in 2023 with 12 years’ experience as an MLB manager with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2011-15) and Miami Marlins (2016-22).

In 1,973 career games, Mattingly has a 968-1,005 career record: 446-363 and three division titles with the Dodgers, and 443-587 in Miami, plus his time in Philadelphia.

He was named National League Manager of the Year in 2020.

After he parted ways with the Marlins, Mattingly told teams that called to inquire about his availability that he planned to spend the 2023 season with his family. But Louie – and a call from the Toronto Blue Jays – apparently helped to change his mind.

On Nov. 23, 2022, Toronto announced his hiring as the bench coach to manager John Schneider.

What lured him was the potential of the Blue Jays, given their makeup and ability to “throw runs up in a hurry,” Mattingly said at the time.

With Mattingly by Schneider’s side over three seasons, the Blue Jays were 257-229 (52.9%). They finished two outs from winning the World Series in 2025, losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games.

In Toronto, he replaced Casey Candaele, who was reassigned from his job as manager at Triple-A Buffalo to serve as Schneider's bench coach when he replaced the fired Charlie Montoyo in mid-2022. Candaele returned to the Bisons after the season concluded.

The Phillies struggled in September, finishing the month 10-14 and narrowly holding on to the final wild-card spot in the NL. The Atlanta Braves eliminated Philadelphia 3-2 in the best-of-five wild-card series.

And he reportedly wasn’t the first choice, with Dombrowski favoring ex-Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora for the job – and Cora turning him down twice.

In the end, Mattingly likely was a wise choice for the Phillies. Their name players are older – Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Aaron Nola all are 33, J.T Realmuto is 35 and Zack Wheeler is 36 – but the team still has a window to reach the World Series.

Mattingly knows how to manage this group of players and already has begun to mentor the younger ones who were worked into the roster. With a lockout and a potentially shorter season looming, Mattingly has a head start, too, on what could be a condensed schedule.