Mar

Don Mattingly the next Dodger manager?

By Ryan

Don Mattingly took the captains chair today at Camelback Ranch as he became acting manager of the Dodgers while manager Joe Torre took half the squad over to Taiwan for a weekend series. Mattingly is also viewed as Torre’s potential successor in Chavez Ravine, and Mattingly reiterated that he was approached in the off season about eventually filling that role. “Nothing definitive” was discussed in terms of replacing Torre, who is in the final year of his contract with the Dodgers but has talked to team owner Frank McCourt about an extension for 2011, Mattingly said. Mattingly said that in between his off season interview with the Cleveland Indians and a scheduled interview with the Washington Nationals, he met with McCourt and general manager Ned Colletti, and Mattingly said he met with McCourt, Colletti and team president Dennis Mannion later in the winter in Arizona and had productive conversations that led him to turn down the Nationals interview. “They like me, I like them, and I felt like I was part of their future,” Mattingly said. “So we kept the conversation going. … I like California. It fits my personality more than anything. It fits me perfectly.”

Mattingly has openly stated he feels ready to manage a major league team but also realizes that he is in a position to learn from one of the best managers of all time. “You never stop learning,” Mattingly said. “I’ve got to keep my priorities straight and know what my job is. And Joe knows I’ve got his back.” Mattingly took over the Dodgers’ hitting coach duties after the ‘08 All-Star break due in part to a season long slump that the entire team seemed to be in. The poor hitting could also be attributed to the team having a lot of young inexperienced players at the major league level at the time. In ‘09, the club led the National League with a .270 batting average and .346 on-base percentage. Mattingly has played a vital role in the development of Matt Kemp and Andre Either. Both players posted career highs in multiple categories and look to continue their success at the plate in the upcoming season.

Once Torre rides off into the baseball sunset, Mattingly will be ready to take over the team and hopefully provide stability to the Dodgers that hasn’t been there since the great Tommy Lasorda.

Information from Doug Miller of MLB.com was used in this article.