{"id":238890,"date":"2026-07-09T00:23:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T00:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/238890\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T00:23:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T00:23:07","slug":"don-mattingly-interested-in-being-phillies-permanent-manager","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/238890\/","title":{"rendered":"Don Mattingly interested in being Phillies’ permanent manager"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the Philadelphia Phillies<\/a> firmly in playoff contention heading into the All-Star break, interim manager Don Mattingly said he would be interested in leading the club full time.<\/p>\n

“Oh, I would do it,” Mattingly told ESPN’s Buster Olney before Wednesday’s game at the Cincinnati Reds<\/a>, when asked if the idea of him managing beyond this year is brought to him by Philadelphia. “I kind of committed myself to two years with the Phillies when I came over. So, whatever [president of baseball operations] Dave [Dombrowski] wants to do in that regard.<\/p>\n

“But yeah, I think I would like to do it.”<\/p>\n

Since Rob Thomson was fired in April, Mattingly has led a remarkable turnaround in Philadelphia over the past two months. At the time of Thomson’s dismissal, the Phillies were 9-19, tied with the New York Mets<\/a> for MLB’s worst record.<\/p>\n

But since April 28, Mattingly’s first game as interim manager, the Phillies are 42-22 (.656) — the second-best record in MLB, behind Milwaukee (44-20, .688).<\/p>\n

In April, Dombrowski acknowledged that he offered Philadelphia’s managerial job to Alex Cora<\/a>, one day after Cora was fired in stunning fashion by the Boston Red Sox<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cora ultimately declined the offer, prompting Dombrowski to name Mattingly, then the team’s bench coach, as Thomson’s interim replacement for the rest of the season.<\/p>\n

Mattingly now works for one of his sons — Preston Mattingly is the Phillies’ general manager — in what is believed to be the first father-son manager-GM combination in baseball history.<\/p>\n

Mattingly, spending his 23rd straight season as a major league manager or coach, had his mind set on retirement after he left his role as bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays<\/a> under manager John Schneider following last year’s World Series.<\/p>\n

He reversed course after a talk with his family and latched on with the Phillies<\/a>, enticed by the chance to work with his son and with Thomson, his friend from their Yankees days.<\/p>\n

Mattingly managed the Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a> from 2011 to 2015 and the Miami Marlins<\/a> from 2016 to 2022. He was the 2020 NL Manager of the Year after he led the Marlins to their first playoff appearance since 2003.<\/p>\n

Mattingly played 14 seasons as a first baseman in the major leagues, all for the Yankees, from 1982 to 1995. He was a six-time American League All-Star and the 1985 AL Most Valuable Player before retiring. Mattingly captained the Yankees in his final five seasons.<\/p>\n

The Associated Press contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

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