BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
The one thing that I truly look forward to every baseball season is catching up with my great friend Don Mattingly. Wherever Don goes, I follow him.
When he left the Miami Marlins, I went up to Toronto, CA., and spent time with him in the Rogers Centre before a game against the Kansas City Royals. We spent some time catching up.
Last season, Don was gracious enough to do a nine minute interview for the “Motor City Mad Mouth Show” before a Miami Marlins game vs the Blue Jays at Loan Depot Park.
A few months later, Donnie Baseball found himself in the World Series facing the Los Angeles Dodgers, but came up one out short of winning his first Championship Ring.
After the Fall Classic, Mattingly left his position with the Toronto Blue Jays and decided to take some time off pondering his future. Retirement was a possibility so he could spend more time with his grandchildren or would he give it another go with another team.
The Philadelphia Phillies would be an intriguing option because his son Preston is the general manager of the club.
Before Spring Training, Mattingly made the decision to join the Phillies and give it another shot at that elusive World Series title. He would be going to the club that had Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and many others on it. This is an extremely talented team and is considered one of the best franchises in baseball.
Instead of going to Dunedin to see Don with the Blue Jays, I would have to travel to Clearwater and see him with the Phillies.
I applied on March 7, but was initially denied. When the Phillies PR Guy spoke to Don, my good buddy said he would like to talk to me and we did get approved.
By the time I got this notification, I shifted to the Miami Marlins at Houston Astros in West Palm Beach and we covered that game.
The PR guy was real nice about this and we would see Don a week later vs the Atlanta Braves instead.
Before the Astros game, I interviewed Astros All-Star hurler Josh Hader and manager Joe Espada.
The game we covered was on Sunday, March 15 vs the Atlanta Braves.
Don and I took pictures, the we talked about his decision to leave Toronto, the World Series, working with Preston, the Phillies chances to win in 2026, the ABS System and many other baseball topics.
Once again, it was a great time with two individuals who go back a long time. I told Don that when I write my second book, I’ll have to decide what photo of what jersey I’ll have to use.
In this story, you’re going to see the video of our interview. You’re also going to see another interview with Anthony San Fillippo, a prominent media member in Philadelphia covers the Phillies and the areas other teams. We also talked about him on 108 Stitches, Baseball Talk.
A week later, I covered the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays in Bradenton, FL. Blue Jays Manager John Schneider had a ton of praise for his former bench coach.
There is so much love and respect for Don Mattingly.
Before I spoke to Mattingly, I saw him working by the batting cage, then he worked with the first and second baseman trying to give pointers how to hit and field their positions better.
Don Mattingly is all about coaching and contributing anyway he can.
Nothing has ever changed for the 64-year old native of Evansville, Indiana that has a lifetime batting average of .307, who’s No.23 is retired by the New York Yankees and is a Monument Park honoree.
The one honor that has eluded him is enshrinement into the Baseball Hall of Game, but he downplays that because of injuries. To this day, I’ll keep endorsing him until is lands is spot in baseball immortality! Don Mattingly is a Hall of Fame Person and Baseball Player! Many years ago, I did buy a Hydrostone Statue of Don swinging the bat which is in my studio.
Instead, he takes more pride in Mattingly Charities and we also talked about that during our interview.
As Baseball uncertainty is inevitable after the collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1, 2026, this was one more opportunity to talk to a Baseball Lifer that is truly one of a kind in my eyes and has a tremendous following worldwide.
It was great seeing him again! I look forward to the next time! Now, it’s obvious that I’ll be pulling for the Phillies to win the World Series for “Donnie Baseball” so he can get a champions exit and retire on top!
The one thing which is constant is that before we start an interview, we always exchange hugs and Don always asked me about my health.
He’s given me moral support when I started dealing with concussions. Now that I have Alzheimer’s Disease, his concern for me is even deeper!
He always tells me to hang in there and keep plugging away! I tell him it’s not easy but I’m trying and tell him I love him and he just keeps hugging me as my head drops into his arms! Don Mattingly is the older brother that I never had!
Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@Gmail.com. You can follow him on X @TribuneSouth. To see all of his broadcasts, you can subscribe to the South Florida Tribune YouTube Channel.
Scott also wrote a book “Lessons From The Microphone” which can be purchase on Amazon/Kindle and Barnes & Noble. It’s also available in Audio Form.
Scott will be writing his final Spring Story about the Toronto Blue Jays vs the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton, FL. Stay tuned.
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