Don Mattingly hired as manager of the Miami Marlins
Duri
It didn't take long for Don Mattingly to find a new home.
Source: The Marlins and Don Mattingly have agreed on a contract. He will be the club's next manager.
— Molly Knight (@molly_knight) October 29, 2015
Just seven days after agreeing to part ways with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Mattingly has agreed to a four-year deal to become the new manager of the Miami Marlins, according to Molly Knight of VICE Sports. During his five seasons managing the Dodgers, Mattingly posted a 446-331 (.551) record, which serves as the sixth-best winning percentage in franchise history. Although Mattingly has led the Dodgers to three straight National League West Division titles, the team has underachieved in the postseason, advancing past the National League Division Series only once during that time period. With the team's postseason struggles, many felt that a manager change was needed for the Dodgers. Mattingly's coaching career began with the New York Yankees, as he served as the team's hitting coach from 2004-2006, and was the team's bench coach for the 2007 season. After Mattingly was not offered the Yankees' managerial position in 2008, Mattingly accepted a role as the Dodgers' hitting coach under former Yankee manager Joe Torre, who later named Donnie Baseball as his successor to take over as the team's manager. With the move, Mattingly will become the Marlins' eighth manager since the 2010 season. Although the Marlins won't have a huge payroll come opening day, the team has some very good young talent, including outfielder Giancarlo Stanton and pitcher Jose Fernandez. There are a lot of questions surrounding this move for Mattingly, but it will ultimately give Mattingly a chance to work with a groom young players for the future. With the Dodgers, Mattingly was provided a lot of veteran talent, as there weren't many opportunities to work with younger players to help them grow as ball players. With the Marlins, Mattingly will get plenty of opportunities to help groom some young talent. The Marlins have desperately needed a leader to help them build a strong foundation for the future, and who better than Mattingly, who had an outstanding playing career and has proven that he could be a very good coach and leader. It will be interesting to see how it plays out, but Mattingly definitely could be the guy to lead the Marlins back to being playoff contenders once again.