After calling it home as a manager since 2011, Miami Marlins skipper Don Mattingly returned to Dodger Stadium this week for the first time as a visitor since leaving the Los Angeles Dodgers organization last October.
The Dodgers and Mattingly mutually agreed to part ways after the club was eliminated by the New York Mets in five games in the National League Division Series. Mattingly quickly made the expected jump to South Beach, where Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria has long been a fan of Mattingly’s.
Upon returning to Dodger Stadium, the 55-year-old manager spoke fondly of his tenure in Los Angeles. Mattingly also reiterated the allure of leading a young Marlins team carries.
While he no longer is with the Dodgers, and neither are coaches from his staff — save for pitching coach Rick Honeycutt — A.J. Ellis believes Mattingly and those who worked under him deserve credit for the Dodgers’ recent run of success, per J.P. Hoornstra of the LA Daily News Group:
“I think where we’re at as an organization, as a clubhouse, he has his fingerprints on a lot of it,” Ellis said. “I think he should be credited for that. The work him and Tim (Wallach, Mattingly’s bench coach in Los Angeles and Miami) did together the last three years was vital to our team success.”
Mattingly increased the Dodgers’ win total in each of his first four seasons and finished 446-363 in five seasons as manager. He helped guide the Dodgers to three consecutive NL West titles, which is a first in franchise history.
However, Mattingly was only able to win one playoff series during his tenure though, against the Atlanta Braves in 2013, before the Dodgers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS.
