Biography

Call 1.800.966.1380 to contact Don Mattingly booking agent, publicist, manager, pr firm, representative and management company for booking Don Mattingly speaker appearances, autograph signing, endorsement deals or hiring Don Mattingly as a keynote speaker for your next event. Find Don Mattingly official website information, speaker fees, booking fees, costs and schedule. Baseball great, Don Mattingly, nicknamed "Donnie Baseball" and "The Hit Man", was born on April 20, 1961. Don Mattingly is currently the Los Angeles Dodgers hitting coach. He played first baseman for the New York Yankees from 1982-1995. He also served as the Yankees hitting coach from 2004 to 2006 and Joe Torre's bench coach in 2007.

Don Mattingly is one of the most popular Yankees in the team's history. Despite not being a member of a World Series winning team, his popularity is comparable to that of Yankee greats like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Joe DiMaggio. Since returning for the annual Old Timers' Game, Mattingly has consistently received the loudest ovations.

Mattingly grew up in Evansville, Indiana and was one of the nation's top prospects as a high school player at Reitz Memorial High School in 1979, earning a brief write-up in Sports Illustrated magazine. However, most Major League Baseball teams avoided drafting Mattingly, expecting him to attend Indiana State University before entering professional baseball. Taking a chance, the New York Yankees drafted Mattingly in the 19th round of the 1979 amateur draft and soon signed him up.

Mattingly married Kim Sexton on September 8, 1979. They have three sons: Taylor, Preston, and Jordon Mattingly, some of whom attempted careers at professional baseball.

Don Mattingly spent his official rookie season of 1983 as a part-time first baseman and outfielder, waiting for a full-time spot in the lineup to open up. He played well, hitting .283 in 279 at-bats, but with little power.

Mattingly became the Yankees' full-time first baseman and an MVP candidate. He hit .343 and beat out teammate Dave Winfield in a close race for the American League batting title with a 4-for-5 game on the last day of the season. Mattingly also led the league with 207 hits. He developed a power stroke, slugging a league-leading 44 doubles to go with 23 home runs. He was 2nd in the league in slugging percentage (.537) and at bats per strikeout (18.3), 4th in total bases (324), 5th in RBIs (110), 6th in sacifice flies (9), and 10th in on base percentage (.381). He also batted .400 with runners in scoring position.

Don Mattingly was also recognized in 1985 for his defense, winning his first of nine Gold Glove Awards. He was considered such an asset defensively that Yankees management assigned him to play games at second base and third base early in his career, even though he was a left-handed thrower. Mattingly appeared as a left-handed throwing second baseman for one-third of one inning, during the resumption of the George Brett "Pine Tar Incident" game in 1983. He also played three games as a left-handed throwing third baseman during a five-game series against the Seattle Mariners in 1986.

Don Mattingly's number 23 was retired by the New York Yankees in 1997. Mattingly finished his career with 2,153 hits, 222 home runs, 1,099 RBI, and a .307 lifetime average. He is commonly cited as the best Yankee player to have never played in a World Series. His career had bad timing, as the Yankees lost the World Series the year before he broke into the big leagues and they ended up winning the World Series in the first year of Mattingly's retirement. This World Series drought (1982-1995) was the longest in Yankees history since the start of the Babe Ruth era.

After retiring as a player, Mattingly spent seven seasons as a special instructor during Yankees' spring training in Tampa, Florida from 1997-2003.

Following the 2003 season, the Yankees named Mattingly the hitting coach. He spent three seasons in that role, receiving much praise from the Yankees organization and his players. Under Mattingly, the Yankees set an all-time franchise record with 242 home runs in 2004.

On October 26, 2006, Mattingly was promoted to being Joe Torre's bench coach, replacing Lee Mazzilli.

On October 18, 2007, Don Mattingly was considered the front runner for the Yankee's manager position, after Joe Torre declined a one year contract extension. Mattingly was interviewed in Tampa, Florida on October 23, 2007 for the Yankee Manager search along with Joe Girardi, interviewed on October 22, 2007, and Tony Pena, interviewed on October 24, 2007. On October 28th, 2007 the Yankees front office announced that it had offered the manager position to Joe Girardi, and that neither Mattingly, nor Pena would be offered the position.

PFP Sports & Celebrity Talent PFP is a speakers bureau and booking agency providing Don Mattingly speaker, personal appearance and endorsement information. Booking Don Mattingly for appearances, as a motivational speaker, keynote speaker, for a fundraising event, grand opening, television or radio commercial, PR campaign or trade show is easy through our agency. For more info, contact Don Mattingly through PFP Sports & Celebrity Talent at 1.800.966.1380.