Had the Toronto Blue Jays got those elusive two outs, Don Mattingly would have earned his first ever World Series ring.
On Thursday, Mattingly announced he was leaving the organization after being manager John Schneider's right-hand man for three seasons. There is speculation he could become the new bench coach for the Philadelphia Phillies which would be quite interesting considering his son Preston is the team's GM.
Although Mattingly fell short of a World Series ring, perhaps he will get something else which has long eluded him - a plaque in Cooperstown.
Earlier this week, Mattingly was announced as one of 8 players who will appear on the Baseball Hall of Fame's Contemporary Era ballot. Joining Mattingly on the ballot are Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Dale Murphy, Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Gary Sheffield and the late Fernando Valenzuela.
Given Mattingly's recent return to the public spotlight during the World Series and the sympathy he has gained perhaps he will now be enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
There was a time during the mid to late 1980's where Don Mattingly was arguably the best player in MLB. Mattingly, who spent his entire 14-year big-league playing career with the New York Yankees, won the AL batting title in 1984 with a .343 batting average besting teammate Dave Winfield by 3 points. The following season, Mattingly won the AL MVP hitting .324 with 35 HR and a league leading 145 RBI. Donnie Ballgame also led the Junior Circuit in doubles for the first of three consecutive seasons and also won the first of 9 Gold Gloves at first base.
In 1986, Mattingly controversially lost his chance at back-to-back MVPs when he finished second to Boston Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens who had his breakout season winning the first of his 7 career Cy Young Awards as Boston won its first AL pennant in 11 years. Personally, I agreed with bestowing Clemens with the MVP as I do not believe the Red Sox would have got to the post-season without Clemens. However, a case could be made that Mattingly had a better season in 1986 than in 1985 as he stroked a career high 238 hits which led the league. Mattingly also led the AL in doubles (53), SLG (.573), OPS (.967), OPS + (161) and total bases (388).
A back injury would hamper Mattingly's offensive output by 1990. Yet he remained the best defensive first baseman in the game. That should have put him over the top. Still, his diminished effectiveness at the plate later in his career along with the fact that Mattingly only reached the post-season with the Yankees once in his career certainly hurt his Hall of Fame candidacy. In his 15 years on the BBWAA ballot, Mattingly never earned more than 30% of the vote.
In all, Mattingly who retired at the age of 34, collected 2,153 hits for a lifetime batting average of .307 with 222 HR and 1099 RBI. What I find most remarkable about Mattingly is his ability to put the ball into play. Mattingly never struck out more than 45 times in a single season. Considering that it is not unheard of for batters to strikeout more than 200 times in a season, Mattingly only struck out 444 times in 14 years. Even the nearly unanimously elected Ichiro Suzuki didn't have Mattingly's level of contact.
While I don't think the Contemporary Era Committee is sentimental, I think Mattingly is more electable than most. Bonds and Clemens will have asterisks next to their names for the rest of their lives. Delgado are stuck in the steroid era. So too is Kent although he was never well liked by the media or his teammates. Aside from Mattingly, this leaves Murphy (who had an offensive peak comparable to Mattingly without the benefit of drugs) and Valenzuela who is a year removed from his sudden passing. Given everything happening to Mexicans and Latin Americans (including American citizens) by ICE, Valenzuela might also get a sympathy vote.
Anyhow, we will find out if Mattingly or anyone else gets a Hall of Fame plaque on December 7th.
No comments:
Post a Comment