One week after the Los Angeles Dodgers lost Game 5 of the National League Division Series at home to the New York Mets, the club and Don Mattingly announced a mutual split.
The managerial change was hardly a surprise, as it was widely presumed Andrew Friedman would hand-select his skipper after getting hired by the Dodgers as president of baseball operations in October 2014.
Mattingly finished 446-363 in his five seasons as Dodgers manager, increasing the club’s win total in each of the first four seasons.
He guided Los Angeles to three straight NL West titles, which was a first in franchise history.
Additionally, the Dodgers won a minimum of 90 games in each of the past three seasons — a first since 1976-78.
Opening camp with the Miami Marlins last week, Mattingly acknowledged the Dodgers ultimately fell short despite their yearly success, according to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY Sports:
“I’m proud of what we were able to accomplish,’’ Mattingly, “but it obviously wasn’t everything we wanted to accomplish. We did a good job, but we didn’t get to where we ultimately wanted to go.’’
Mattingly added he believes the timing of leaving Los Angeles for Miami was correct:
“It just felt like the timing was right for this,’’ Mattingly said. “This feels like the right thing, and the right time.’’
Since his departure from the Dodgers organization, Mattingly has spoken fondly of Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi, among others, and the learning process that came with incorporating analytics under the revamped front office.
“That situation was really good. I loved the information that I was able to get,” Mattingly said last October. “It was really a learning situation for me and I really enjoyed it.”
With five years of managerial experience in a high-pressure environment under his belt, Mattingly takes on a new challenge with Miami, which he called intriguing. While the Marlins roster features a bevy of young talent, they are coming off an injury-riddled season that ended with a 71-91 record.
