The 2013 Dodger season came to a screeching halt on October 18th with a rather inept effort against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Dodgers were eliminated from further playoff contention with a 9-0 loss. The next day preparations for the 2014 season began. Less than a week later bench coach Trey Hillman has been fired, the rest of the coaching staff has been retained, Cuban infielder Alexander Guerrero has been signed to a four year deal, Ned Colletti was beginning his planning for off season signings, but there is one piece of unfinished business that should have been completed some time ago. Don Mattingly’s contract option for 2014 has not been picked up by the Dodgers. Mattingly had asked the Dodgers to exercise that option in Spring Training. 

With new ownership it was reasonable to take a wait and see approach with Mattingly during the 2013 season. I think we all can understand that. It is, however, not reasonable to hold a press conference with Ned Colletti and Don Mattingly following the loss to the Cardinals with Mattingly’s future with the Dodgers still unclear. It was not reasonable to fire Trey Hillman and announce other coaches were being retained without dealing first with Don Mattingly’s contract. It was disrespectful and unprofessional by the Dodgers on every level possible. It almost seems there is a squeeze being put on so Mattingly simply decides to leave of his own accord. There is little wonder Mattingly played some “hardball” at the press conference regarding his contract status. I personally liked that side of him. It takes no small bit of courage to speak out about your bosses publicly when you have no contract. Donnie Baseball is a bit tougher than we may have expected.

Although respectful, Dodger manager Don Mattingly didn’t pull any punches about how he felt managing the entire season with his future with the team uncertain. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Don Mattingly managed the entire season with uncertainty over his head. As much of an irritant as that must have been, it was not evident by his demeanor. His request for his 2014 option to be picked up in Spring Training was denied and the team began the season so much worse than we could have imagined in our worst Dodger nightmares. At 9.5 games back and 12 games under .500 on June 22, the Dodgers were a $200 million team in total disarray. The rest of the baseball world snickered and rejoiced in the plight of the overpaid under performing Dodgers. Dodger fans were exasperated. Cries went up in the media and by fans to “fire Mattingly” as if that would have made any difference.

Don Mattingly was then managing day by day. That is, each day might be his last with the Dodgers and he knew it without any doubt. He recalls his conversation with Stan Kastan. At one point — Mattingly couldn’t remember the exact day — he had a conversation with Dodgers President Stan Kasten. “Stan was really honest” about the prospect of changing managers, Mattingly recalled while talking to reporters at Busch Stadium. “He didn’t want to do anything, but he said, ‘Donnie, at some point I’ve got to do something.’ ”

One reporter asked if Kasten “was that explicit?” “Yeah, and I understood, I was fine with that,” Mattingly said. “At some point [when you’re losing] you need a change, a different voice.” Mattingly’s approach to his job did not change. He reiterated that he had no hard feelings towards the media and the comments he was reading and he did not take it personally noting, “… that’s just the job you had to do.”

The Dodgers did make it to post season play defeating the Atlanta Braves before falling to the Cardinals. However, throughout post season play fans and the media seemed to be preoccupied with blaming Don Mattingly with game managerial errors. Practically every blog was chastising Mattingly as if we knew what would have happened if he had made a different decision, rarely considering that the decision would have been fine if the players had executed the plays. Don Mattingly finished up the season as he started it with his head being called for on a silver platter.

So the burning question remains. Should Don Mattingly be offered a contract extension? What are the criteria that are followed in retaining a manager? Does he have to win the World Series to retain his job? As wonderful as a World Series championship is, it is a rare occurrence for a manager. Jim Leyland, highly regarded as a manager, was victorious in one World Series in twenty-two years, recently unable to bring the championship to Detroit with his power packed lineup. Bobby Cox had one World Series victory in thirty years. Dusty Baker earned no World Series ring in seventeen years as a manager. Tommy Lasorda had two championships in twenty-two years.

I would hope failing to drink World Series champagne would not be a reason to fire Mattingly. He did have a team with the highest payroll in MLB and I expect along with that goes the expectation of winning it all. I expect we also know the fallacy of that expectation as witnessed by the Tigers, Angels, Rangers and the Yankees. The Yankees have won it all once in the last thirteen years. A big payroll certainly helps but is no guarantee of winning. Perhaps it is not the huge payroll but simply the high profile team on paper – Kemp, Kershaw, Gonzalez, Puig, Ethier, Ramirez, Greinke, Ryu, Crawford. We also know the game isn’t played on paper and big names do not and cannot guarantee success. There are too many other variables in play for players – personal issues, injuries, simply a down year.

Let’s change the discussion from the question of whether Mattingly should be offered a contract extension to a statement of why he indeed should be offered that extension.

The Dodgers in 2012 came close to winning a wild card berth to the playoffs, but did not. One of the often stated reasons to explain that, after the biggest trade in baseball history, was that the team had not had sufficient time together to develop a cohesive team chemistry. After all, there were a number of new players who had to learn to play together – Gonzalez, Ramirez, Victorino, Crawford, Beckett, Punto. How does team chemistry develop? Does it happen by accident, familiarity with each other, or is there a change agent involved? I think we would have to agree that the Dodgers had good team chemistry in 2013 and were good teammates even during the terrible stretch at the start of the season. I would suggest there was an agent at play in that development – Don Mattingly. When the team could have torn apart, it wasn’t. Adrian Gonzalez summed it up: “There were a lot of expectations for the 2012 Red Sox, but there also were managerial and front-office distractions that carried over to the clubhouse and resulted in a last-place finish. There were no such distractions in Los Angeles when the high hopes took an early blow. Mattingly wouldn’t allow it.”

Don Mattingly managed the team in one of the most terrible stretches we can remember. His outlook never changed, his demeanor never changed, he simply managed with the hand he had been dealt. That is, under performance by some players and an unbelievable rash of injuries. By July 19 the Dodgers led the way in all of MLB with 22 trips to the DL. During those visit the team lost a total of 744 cumulative days of DL time. At times with an AAA lineup Mattingly simply could not put together a winning lineup, despite throwing out 50 different lineups in the first 53 games. One wonders how another manager could have weathered that storm more successfully as a precursor to what was to follow for the next 50 games.

Throughout those disastrous first two months of the season Don Mattingly displayed another quality of a good manager. Not only did he communicate well with his players, he was, in my opinion, masterful with the media. He answered questions with candor, often repeatedly, didn’t call out reporters and most importantly, he always defended his players regardless of how they were playing. He didn’t vent his frustrations publicly as Bobby valentine had done in Boston. It is not difficult to imagine how exasperating press meetings must have been during that disastrous run. Through it all he was a player’s manager, not ever focusing on himself:” “I’m fine,” Mattingly said. “I’ve got to be a leader. I can’t be worried about me. I’ve got to worry about this team and this organization.“

Not known as a tough guy type manager, Don Mattingly did make some tough decisions during the season. Mattingly benched Yasiel Puig at the start of the fifth inning in the Dodgers’ 4-0 win over the Cubs on August 28. Characteristically he simply kept the discussion that followed with Puig in house. Who could have dealt better with the wild horse that is Yasiel? He also benched Andre Ethier towards the end of May. He started Clayton Kershaw in the playoff on three days rest. And now he has told management in so many words – get it done or get off the pot.

September was a bit of a trying month for the Dodgers. I thought he played out the final games of the season in the best possible way, not looking for an early clinch but a longer run after the regular season ended. Injuries again became an issue. Mattingly, amidst the howls from some to put the best lineup on the field, focused on the players and the bigger picture. He rested Hanley Ramirez and Andre Ethier , along with others, doing all he could to keep them as healthy as possible and still be prepared for post season play. That may have been some of his best managing.

Don Mattingly is a players’ manager. That may well be the best attribute that a manager can have helping to keep the ship upright in bad times as well as good times. I tend to take the word of his players rather than some anonymous source remarks made to Bob Nightengale.

Hanley Ramirez: “He was a great player, and he knows how tough the game can be. He gave us a lot of confidence. He kept everybody loose, because he didn’t change. Everybody was upset. We felt we had to do something for him. We couldn’t let him down.”

Adrian Gonzalez: “He was in the middle of this whole season turning around. He stayed consistent. He didn’t panic or show anxiety. He was the same guy around us, and that consistency was important. He knew this team was good enough to win if we stayed with our game plan. One of the best attributes a coach or manager can have is not be afraid to lose his job. He had no fear.”

Despite rumors from one national media writer, Mattingly is well respected by his players and is considered a players’ manager. (Photo credit – Stephen Dunn)

Clayton Kershaw: “He stayed the same. That’s the most important thing. He never really wavered. We went through stuff. Obviously he was going through stuff, too. I’m sure he was wondering about his job, just like we were. But he didn’t let us see that. His demeanor stayed the same. For us, that was huge. Donnie wasn’t mad at us. He just asked us to play and keep coming to the field every day like nothing changed. Slowly but surely, it turned around. We all love Donnie. We all respect him like crazy. We want to win for him. I don’t know about his personal contract, but I know that right now we want to play for him. He’s a great manager.”

Then there was that incredible run after June 22 when the Dodgers went 42-8 matching the 1941 Yankees and 1942 Cardinals for the best 50-game stretch since 1900. Does the manager get no credit for the amazing turn around? Was it all Yasiel Puig? Was it all Hanley Ramirez? I think not but Donnie Baseball again understands how the game is played: “When the team doesn’t play well, the manager usually gets it,” he added, “and when the team’s going good it’s, ‘You guys are playing great.’”