LestersLegends.com

Photo courtesy of TSN Archives/Icon SMI  

Donnie Baseball is another first baseman that was known for having a good glove to go along with a solid bat.  He wasn’t a classic slugging first baseman, but he still got the job done at the plate.  In the field, he was unbelievable.   His leadership was unquestioned.  Don Mattingly to me is baseball.  He should be a Hall of Famer.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI

The Numbers
1785 Games
7003 At Bats
.307 Batting Average
1007 Runs
2153 Hits
442 Doubles
20 Triples
222 Home Runs
1099 RBI
.471 Slugging %

Playoffs - 5 games, 24 At bats, 3 runs, 10 hits (.417 average), 4 doubles, 1 HR, 6 RBI.

The Awards
1985 MVP
1985 Major League Player of the Year
1993 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
6 All-Star Games
9 Gold Gloves
3 Silver Sluggers
MVP votes in 7 seasons

Top Ten Finishes
Batting – Five times (1984 Batting Title)
On-base % – Twice
Slugging % – Five times (Led league in 1986)
OPS – Four times (Led league in 1986)
Games – Twice
At Bats – Four times
Runs – Three times
Hits – Seven times (Led league in ’84 & ’86)
Doubles - Six times (Led league in ‘84, ’85 & ’86)
Home Runs – Twice
Total Bases – Five times (Led league in ’85 & ’86)
RBI – Five times (Led league in 1985)
Walks – Seven times (Led league in ‘86)

It’s too bad that Mattingly couldn’t have stuck around a few more years.  The year after he retired, the Yankees won the first of four World Series titles in five years.  Had he stuck around just one more year and been a part of that 1996 team, I think his odds of being a Hall of Famer would improve greatly.  It is hard to consider a Yankee Hall of Famer that never played in a World Series game.  There are always exceptions to the rules though.  Donnie Baseball is one of them.

References
Baseball-reference.com

Past Chronicles
Bert Byleven
Andre Dawson
Dale Murphy
Mark McGwire
Bobby Matthews
Tommy John
Buck O’Neill & Minnie Minoso
Jim Rice
Ted Simmons
Lee Smith
Jack Morris
Al Oliver
Steve Garvey
Jim Kaat
Pete Ro$e
Shoeless Joe Jackson
Dave Concepcion
Lou Whitaker
Alan Trammell
Ron Santo
Ron Guidry
Gil Hodges
Dave Parker
Tony Mullane
Keith Hernandez

8 Responses so far | Have Your Say!

1. 

   Jim Kevlin
   February 5th, 2008 at 2:34 pm #

   Lester — Will you help spread the word on this? Also, would you take a look at this, http://www.savethefamegame.com/ — Best, Jim Kevlin

   ——————–

   Hi,

   I wanted to draw your attention to this important petition that The Freeman’s Journal is sponsoring:

   “Save Hall of Fame Game”

   http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/savehofgame/

   The National Baseball Hall of Fame announced Tuesday, Jan. 29, that Major League Baseball has unilaterally cancelled The Hall of Fame Game, a revered 70-year tradition.

   Please help the Cooperstown sports’ community in petitioning MLB Commissioner Bud Selig to change his mind.

   And, please, forward the petition to anyone you know who may be sympathetic to the cause.

   Best regards,

   Jim Kevlin
   Publisher
   The Freeman’s Journal
   Box 890
   Cooperstown NY 13326
   (607) 547-6103

2. 

   Ryan Lester
   February 13th, 2008 at 11:38 pm #

   Jim,

   Thanks for stopping by. I’ve signed the petition, and I’ll do my part to keep it rolling.

3. 

   Mike Cross
   May 6th, 2009 at 5:50 pm #

   I am not a NY Yankees fan, but Don Mattingly was one of the very best players the Bronx Bombers ever had! Too bad he played for an Al Davis/George Steinbrienner ROTTEN OWNER!!

4. 

   LestersLegends
   May 6th, 2009 at 7:18 pm #

   Just bad timing for Mattingly really

5. Cooperstown Chronicles - Stan Coveleski :: Elites TV
   May 13th, 2009 at 1:03 pm #

   [...] Maris Rube Marquard* Billy Martin (Player/Manager) Dennis Martinez Edgar Martinez Bobby Matthews Don Mattingly Gene Mauch (Manager) Carl Mays Bill Mazeroski* Fred McGriff Mark McGwire Bid McPhee Johnny Mize* [...]

6. Cooperstown Chronicles - Waite Hoyt | 1800blogger
   May 20th, 2009 at 2:06 pm #

   [...] Maris Rube Marquard* Billy Martin (Player/Manager) Dennis Martinez Edgar Martinez Bobby Matthews Don Mattingly Gene Mauch (Manager) Carl Mays Bill Mazeroski* Fred McGriff Mark McGwire Bid McPhee Johnny Mize* [...]

7. Cooperstown Chronicles - Kiki Cuyler | 1800blogger
   May 28th, 2009 at 7:55 am #

   [...] Maris Rube Marquard* Billy Martin (Player/Manager) Dennis Martinez Edgar Martinez Bobby Matthews Don Mattingly Gene Mauch (Manager) Carl Mays Bill Mazeroski* Fred McGriff Mark McGwire Bid McPhee Johnny Mize* [...]

8. 

   erik
   August 5th, 2009 at 9:03 pm #

   he should be in. he was still a good hitter after coming back from serious injury. he should have played for 2 more years