Editing Don Mattingly (section)

==Professional career==
===Draft and minor Leagues===
[[File:1981 Nashville Don Mattingly.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|Mattingly with the [[Nashville Sounds]] in 1981]]
Mattingly lasted in the [[1979 Major League Baseball draft]] until the 19th round, when he was selected by the [[New York Yankees]]. His father, Bill, informed [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) teams that his son intended to honor his college commitment and would not sign a professional contract. Don Mattingly was not interested in attending college, so he chose to sign with the Yankees, receiving a $23,000 [[signing bonus]].<ref name=trying/><ref name=jaws>{{cite magazine|last=Jaffe |first=Jay |url=http://mlb.si.com/2012/12/19/jaws-and-the-2013-hall-of-fame-ballot-don-mattingly/ |title=JAWS and the 2013 Hall of Fame ballot: Don Mattingly |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=December 19, 2012 |access-date=October 23, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121223023228/http://mlb.si.com/2012/12/19/jaws-and-the-2013-hall-of-fame-ballot-don-mattingly/ |archive-date=December 23, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Mattingly began his professional career in [[Minor League Baseball]] with the [[Oneonta Yankees]] of the [[Class A-Short Season]] [[New York–Penn League]] in 1979.<ref name=BRM>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=mattin001don |title=Don Mattingly Career Stats Leagues Statistics & History |website=Baseball-Reference.com |publisher=Sports Reference |access-date=August 6, 2020}}</ref> He hoped to bat .500 for Oneonta and was disappointed with his .349 batting average, which never went lower than .340.<ref name=trying/> He batted a league-leading .358 in 1980 for the [[Greensboro Hornets]] of the [[Class A (baseball)|Class A]] [[South Atlantic League]] in addition to recording a league-best 177&nbsp;hits.<ref name=BRM/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/leader.cgi?type=bat&id=ffd4f7f8|title=1980 South Atlantic League Batting Leaders|work=Baseball-Reference.com|publisher=Sports Reference|access-date=August 6, 2020}}</ref> He won the league MVP award and was named to the postseason All-Star team.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56838631/hornets-pace-sal-voting/|via=Newspapers.com|title=Hornets Pace SAL Voting|work=The News and Observer|location=Raleigh|date=August 31, 1980|page=33}}</ref> With the [[Double-A (baseball)|Double-A]] [[Nashville Sounds]] in 1981, he hit .316 and led the [[Southern League (1964–2020)|Southern League]] with 35&nbsp;doubles.<ref name=BRM/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/leader.cgi?type=bat&id=85470506|title=1981 Southern League Batting Leaders|work=Baseball-Reference.com|publisher=Sports Reference|access-date=August 6, 2020}}</ref> He was selected to play in the [[Southern League All-Star Game]] and named to its postseason All-Star team.<ref>{{cite news|last=Squires|first=Tom|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30878914/allstars_fix_the_chicks_103/|via=Newspapers.com|title=All-Stars Fix the Chicks, 10–3|work=The Tennessean|location=Nashville|date=July 7, 1981|page=13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.milb.com/news/gcs-41270976|title=Postseason All-Star Teams|website=Southern League|publisher=Minor League Baseball|access-date=August 6, 2020}}</ref>

Despite Mattingly's hitting ability, concerns existed about his lack of speed and [[power hitting|power]]. [[Bob Schaefer]], his [[manager (baseball)|manager]] at Greensboro, said that the organization considered moving him to second base, from which he would throw right-handed.<ref name=trying/> Mattingly was batting .325 for the [[Columbus Clippers]] of the [[Triple-A (baseball)|Triple-A]] [[International League]] when he made it to the majors late in the 1982 season.<ref name=BRM/> He was named to the league's postseason All-Star team and finished third in the voting for the [[International League MVP Award]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56838119/clips-tucker-most-valuable/|via=Newspapers.com|title=Clips' Tucker Most Valuable|work=The Newark Advocate|location=Newark|date=September 1, 1982|page=13}}</ref>

===New York Yankees (1982–1995)===
Mattingly made his Major League debut on September 8, 1982, as a late-inning defensive replacement against the [[Baltimore Orioles]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA198209080.shtml |title=September 8, 1982 Yankees vs. Orioles box score |website=Baseball-Reference.com |date=September 8, 1982 |access-date=August 27, 2013}}</ref> He recorded his first at-bat on September 11 against the [[Milwaukee Brewers]], popping out to third base in the seventh inning.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA198209110.shtml |title=September 11, 1982 Yankees vs. Brewers box score |website=Baseball-Reference.com |date=September 11, 1982 |access-date=August 27, 2013}}</ref> His first career major-league hit occurred in the bottom of the 11th inning against the [[Boston Red Sox]] on October 1, a single to right field off [[Steve Crawford (baseball)|Steve Crawford]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA198210010.shtml |title=October 1, 1982 Yankees vs. Red Sox box score |website=Baseball-Reference.com |date=October 1, 1982 |access-date=August 27, 2013}}</ref> He only had two hits in 12 at-bats that season.

Mattingly spent his rookie season of 1983 as a part-time first baseman and outfielder. He hit .283 in 279 at-bats. He hit his first home run on June 24 against [[John Tudor (baseball)|John Tudor]] of the Red Sox.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS198306240.shtml |title=June 24, 1983 Yankees vs. Red Sox box score |website=Baseball-Reference.com |date=June 24, 1983 |access-date=August 27, 2013}}</ref>

Mattingly became the Yankees' full-time [[first baseman]] in 1984.<ref name=sabr>{{Cite web|url=http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/2242d2ed|title=Don Mattingly|first=James Lincoln|last=Ray|date=16 November 2015|access-date=19 February 2017|work=[[Society of American Baseball Research]]}}</ref> With a batting average of .339, he was selected as a reserve for the 1984 [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]].<ref name=sabr/> Heading into the final game of the season, Mattingly and teammate [[Dave Winfield]] were competing for the [[American League]] [[batting title]], with Mattingly trailing Winfield by .002. On the final day of the season, Mattingly went 4-for-5, while Winfield batted 1-for-4. Mattingly won the batting title with a .343 average, while Winfield finished second with a .340 average.<ref name=trying/> Mattingly also led the league with 207 hits. He hit a league-leading 44 doubles to go with 23 home runs. He was second in the league in slugging percentage (.537) and at-bats per strikeout (18.3), fourth in total bases (324), fifth in RBIs (110), sixth in sacrifice flies (9), and 10th in on-base percentage (.381).<ref name="bbr1">{{cite web| url = https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mattido01.shtml |title= Don Mattingly |website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]] |access-date = December 7, 2014}}</ref>

[[Image:Don Mattingly Strikes Out.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Mattingly with the Yankees]]
Mattingly followed up his breakout season with a spectacular 1985, winning the [[MLB Most Valuable Player award|MVP]] award in the [[American League]]. He batted .324 (third in the league) with 35 [[home run]]s (fourth), 48 doubles (first), and 145 RBIs (first), then the most RBIs in a season by a left-handed major league batter since [[Ted Williams]] drove in 159 in 1949.<ref name="banger">{{Cite magazine |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1986/04/14/the-banger-in-the-bronx |title=The Banger in the Bronx |last=Swift |first=E.M. |magazine=Sports Illustrated |location=New York City |publisher=Time |access-date=September 16, 2024 |date=April 14, 1986 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208131639/https://vault.si.com/vault/1986/04/14/the-banger-in-the-bronx |archive-date=December 8, 2022 |url-status=live }}</ref> His 21 RBI margin over second place in that category was the largest in the American League since [[Al Rosen]]'s 30 RBIs in 1953. He led the league in sacrifice flies (15), total bases (370), and extra-base hits (86), and was second in the AL in hits (211) and slugging percentage (.567), third in intentional walks (13) and at bats per strikeout (13.9), sixth in runs (107), and ninth in at-bats per home run (18.6). He batted .354 with two out and runners in scoring position.

Mattingly was also recognized in 1985 for his defense, winning his first of nine [[Gold Glove Award]]s.<ref name="bbr1"/> He was considered such an asset defensively that Yankees management assigned him to play games at [[second base]] and [[third base]] early in his career, though he was a left-handed thrower. Mattingly appeared as a left-handed throwing second baseman for one-third of one inning, during the resumption of the [[George Brett]] "[[Pine Tar Incident]]" game in 1983. He also played three games at third base during a five-game series against the [[Seattle Mariners]] in 1986.<ref>{{cite web|author=Justin Kubatko / Original design by Justin Kubatko |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/archives/10835 |title=Left-handers playing third base |website=Baseball-Reference.com |access-date=August 27, 2013}}</ref>

Mattingly had a better year in 1986, leading the league with 238 hits and 53 doubles, and breaking the single-season franchise records set by [[Earle Combs]] (231 hits) and [[Lou Gehrig]] (52 doubles); both records had been set in 1927.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYY/leaders_bat.shtml |title=New York Yankees Top 10 Batting Leaders |website=Baseball-Reference.com |access-date=August 27, 2013}}</ref> He also recorded 388 total bases and a .573 slugging percentage. He batted .352 (second in the league), hit 31 home runs (sixth) and drove in 113 runs (third). He was beaten in the American League MVP voting, though, by pitcher [[Roger Clemens]], who also won the [[Cy Young Award]] that year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1986.shtml#ALmvp |title=Baseball Awards Voting for 1986 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |access-date=August 27, 2013}}</ref> Mattingly also became the last left-handed player to field a ball at third base during an MLB game.<ref>{{cite web|last=Preston|first=JG|title=Left-handed throwing second basemen, shortstops and third basemen|url=https://prestonjg.wordpress.com/2009/09/06/left-handed-throwing-second-basemen-shortstops-and-third-basemen/|website=prestonjg.wordpress.com|date=September 6, 2009|access-date=29 January 2017}}</ref>

In 1987, Mattingly tied [[Dale Long]]'s major-league record by hitting home runs in eight consecutive games, from 8–18 July (the All-Star game occurred in the middle of the streak; Mattingly, starting at first base, was 0 for 3).<ref name="eight">{{Cite magazine |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1987/07/27/a-murderers-row-of-one |magazine=Sports Illustrated |location=New York City |publisher=Time |last=Neff |first=Craig |title=A Murderers' Row of One |date=July 27, 1987 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221127014824/https://vault.si.com/vault/1987/07/27/a-murderers-row-of-one |archive-date=November 27, 2022 |access-date=September 16, 2024 |url-status=live }}</ref> This record was later tied again by [[Ken Griffey Jr.]], of Seattle in 1993. Mattingly also set a record by recording an extra-base hit in 10 consecutive games. Mattingly had a record 10 home runs during this streak (Long and Griffey had eight during their streaks). Also that season, Mattingly set a major-league record by hitting six [[Grand slam (baseball)|grand slams]] in a season (two during his July home-run streak), a record matched by [[Travis Hafner]] during the 2006 season. Mattingly's grand slams in 1987 were also the only grand slams of his career.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/columns/story?id=2551746&columnist=kurkjian_tim|title=The grand slam – unusual, yet fun|last=Kurkjian|first=Tim|date=17 August 2006|work=ESPN|access-date=19 February 2017}}</ref>

{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" style="width:60%; clear:both; margin:1.5em auto; align:left;"
!style="background:#1c2841; color:white" colspan=6|MLB-record six Grand Slams in one season [http://www.donniebaseball.com/mattingly/grandslams.html 1]
|-
!#
!Date
!Against
!Pitcher
!Venue
!Score
|-
|1
|May 14
|[[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]]
|[[Mike Mason (baseball)|Mike Mason]]
|[[Yankee Stadium (1923)|Yankee Stadium]]
|9–1 W
|-
|2
|Jun 29
|[[Toronto Blue Jays]]
|[[John Cerutti]]
|[[Exhibition Stadium]]
|15–14 W
|-
|3
|Jul 10
|[[Chicago White Sox]]
|[[Joel McKeon]]
|[[Yankee Stadium (1923)|Yankee Stadium]]
|9–5 W
|-
|4
|Jul 16
|[[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]]
|[[Charlie Hough]]
|[[Arlington Stadium]]
|12–3 W
|-
|5
|Sep 25
|[[Baltimore Orioles]]
|[[José Mesa]]
|[[Memorial Stadium (Baltimore)|Memorial Stadium]]
|8–4 W
|-
|6
|Sep 29
|[[Boston Red Sox]]
|[[Bruce Hurst]]
|[[Yankee Stadium (1923)|Yankee Stadium]]
|6–0 W
|}

In June 1987, Mattingly reportedly injured his back during some clubhouse horseplay with pitcher [[Bob Shirley]], though both denied this.<ref name="roughhouse">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/09/sports/doctor-s-orders-rest-for-mattingly.html?pagewanted=1|title=Doctor's Orders: Rest for Mattingly|first=Murray|last=Chass|date=June 9, 1987|work=The New York Times|page=A29|access-date=April 9, 2010}}</ref> Nevertheless, he finished with a .327 batting average, 30 home runs, and 115 RBIs, his fourth straight year with at least 110 RBIs. Between 1985 and 1987, Mattingly hit 96 home runs with just 114 strikeouts.<ref name="bbr1"/>

[[File:Don Mattingly playing for the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on August 19, 1988.jpg|Mattingly playing for the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on August 19, 1988|thumb|left|upright=0.75]]
Mattingly hit 18 home runs and recorded 88 RBIs in 1988, but still was in the top 10 in the league in batting average at a .311 average.<ref name=trying/> He rebounded in 1989 to 113 RBIs, but his average dipped to .303. Mattingly's five runs scored on April 30, 1988, marked the 12th time it has been done by a Yankee.

Mattingly's back problems flared up anew in 1990; after struggling with the bat, he had to go on the disabled list in July, only returning late in the season for an ineffective finish. His statistics line—a .256 average, five home runs, and 42 RBIs in almost 400 at-bats—came as a shock. Mattingly underwent extensive therapy in the offseason, but his hitting ability was never quite the same. Though he averaged .290 over his final five seasons, he became more of a slap hitter, hitting just 53 home runs over that time. He did see a brief resurgence in power in 1993, hitting 17 home runs and driving in 86 runs in 134 games, as the Yankees finished second in the division behind Toronto. In the strike-shortened 1994 season, he posted a .304 average, the first time since 1989 that he hit over .300. Mattingly's defense remained stellar, but he was not always physically able to play.

Mattingly made his major-league debut in 1982, the year after the Yankees lost the [[1981 World Series|World Series]]. The team did not reach the postseason in any of Mattingly's first 13 years, although they arguably would have made the playoffs in 1994, when the [[1994–95 Major League Baseball strike|players' strike]] ended the season prematurely with the Yankees having the best record in the American League.

In 1995, Mattingly finally reached the playoffs when the Yankees won the AL wild card on the next-to-last day of the season. In the only [[1995 American League Division Series|postseason series]] of his career, facing the [[1995 Seattle Mariners season|Seattle Mariners]], Mattingly batted .417 with six RBIs and a memorable go-ahead home run in game two, his final game at Yankee Stadium. In the final game of the series (and of his career), Mattingly again broke a tie with a two-run double. The New York bullpen faltered and Seattle won in the 11th inning of the decisive game five.

The Yankees acquired [[Tino Martinez]] to succeed Mattingly after the 1995 season.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/08/sports/baseball-yanks-get-martinez-for-davis-hitchcock.html|title=Baseball; Yanks Get Martinez For Davis, Hitchcock|first=Jack|last=Curry|work=The New York Times|date=December 8, 1995|page=B19|access-date=February 3, 2015}}</ref> Unsigned for the 1996 season, Mattingly decided to sit out for the year, and rebuffed an inquiry by the [[Baltimore Orioles]], which tried to sign him at midseason. Mattingly officially announced his retirement in January 1997.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/23/sports/mattingly-says-farewell-and-so-does-his-number.html|title=Mattingly Says Farewell, and So Does His Number|first=Jack|last=Curry|work=The New York Times|date=January 23, 1997|page=B13|access-date=February 3, 2015}}</ref>

For his career, Mattingly never appeared in the World Series, and his tenure with the Yankees marks the team's largest drought without a World Series appearance. The Yankees made the series in both {{wsy|1981}} (the year prior to Mattingly's rookie year) and their {{wsy|1996}} championship season (the year after his last with the club).