Former Marlins skipper Don Mattingly returns to Miami, managing a talented Phillies squad with a familiar family presence in the front office.
MIAMI — An old friend makes his return to Miami.
Former Marlins manager Don Mattingly leads the Philadelphia Phillies to a four-game series against the Miami Marlins on Friday. It is his second series since being promoted to interim manager.
Mattingly, 65, was hired by the Phillies as a bench coach to start this season and became the 57th manager in club history after Rob Thompson was fired after a 9-19 start. Unlike previous stops in his managerial career, there is a family aspect in Philadelphia, as the general manager is also his son, Preston Mattingly.
This follows the same play that brought Thompson to the position in 2022, when the Phillies fired Joe Girardi after a slow start to a season of high expectations. It led to their first postseason appearance since 2011 and first National League pennant since 2009.
“I feel like I’m authentic in what I do,” Mattingly said during his press conference on Tuesday. “Nothing really changes who I am and what I believe in. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to get better and evolve with the game. But I’ve got to be myself and do it.”
Mattingly (2016-2022) was the longest tenured manager in Marlins history. While it wasn’t the most successful stint, it was certainly the most eventful.
Mattingly’s first season with the Marlins in 2016 started with high expectations, but ended with the tragic off-field death of beloved pitcher Jose Fernandez. Mattingly remained during a period of ownership turnover and managed the Marlins’ first MVP (Giancarlo Stanton, 2017) and Cy Young Award winner (Sandy Alcantara, 2022).
Mattingly also won the National League Manager of the Year in 2020, when he led the Marlins to their third-ever postseason appearance during a COVID-19 pandemic-shortened season. That year, the Marlins went 31-29 and swept the Chicago Cubs in a two-game wild-card series.
After his time with the Marlins, Mattingly spent three seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays as a bench coach. In his third season with the club, the Blue Jays went on to win the American League pennant and were within outs of defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.
Although he started with a 10-game hole, this Phillies team, which features two-time MVP Bryce Harper, speedy shortstop Trea Turner, and super slugger Kyle Schwarber, might be his most talented squad. The closest may be his Dodgers teams from 2014-15, which featured Clayton Kershaw at his best.
The Phillies have already responded well to Mattingly’s promotion. Philly defeated the San Francisco Giants 7-0 in Mattingly’s first game as manager on Tuesday and won the first doubleheader game on a walk-off Thursday. Schwarber also hit his 350th career home run.
The Phillies will send Zach Wheeler to the mound against the Marlins and Eury Perez. Wheeler will be making his second start of the season after allowing two runs with six strikeouts in five innings against the Atlanta Braves. Wheeler is in his seventh season with the Phillies and has posted a sub-3 ERA in all but one of his previous years.
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