By Jordan Long
The Miami Marlins are 38-48, currently in last place in the American League East Division. They trail the New York Mets by 8 games. They host the Atlanta Braves for their final series before the All-Star Break. Even though this season hasn’t gone well for them, Miami has decided to bring back Manager Don Mattingly next season.
Mattingly took the job prior to the 2016 season. He had managerial experience with the L.A. Dodgers from 2011 to 2015. Mattingly was successful in L.A. going 446-363, a winning percentage of .551. The Dodgers earned a playoff spot from 2013 to 2015. The furthest they went with Mattingly was the National League Championship Series in 2013, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis lost to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. The Dodgers let Mattingly go since he didn’t deliver a World Series title.
The Marlins job was open after they fired Mike Redmond 38 games into the 2015 season. At the time the Marlins were 16-22. He had been there since 2013. Redmond couldn’t help the Marlins turn into a winning team. During his time as the Marlins’ manager, he was a disappointing 155-207, a winning percentage of .428. The Marlins never made the postseason. The interim manager to finish up 2015 was Dan Jennings. He went 55-69. The Marlins ended 2015 71-91, missing the postseason for the 12th straight year.
Miami decided to hire Mattingly because he had managerial experience plus he had turned the Dodgers into a winning team. Miami knew they were rebuilding and it could take some time for him to help this organization win.
The results weren’t there at the start. From 2016 to 2019 Mattingly’s best finish was in 2016 when the team went 79-82. In 2019, they were one of the worst MLB teams ending with a record of 57-105. It was a surprise Miami didn’t fire him then.
Last year, in an MLB shortened season, Mattingly ended their 16 year playoff drought. They made the postseason at 31-29. They beat the Chicago Cubs in the National League Wild Card Series 2-0 in the best of 3. Their season came to a close when they were swept by the Atlanta Braves 3-0 in the National League Division Series.
Miami was expecting this team to reach the playoffs yet again this year. It isn’t happening. Even with their poor play, Miami decided to bring back Mattingly next season. They had a club option and they thought it was best for the team moving forward to keep Mattingly.
According to ESPN, Miami’s General Manager Kim Ng said, “Donnie has been steady at the helm, and I think that’s one of his greatest attributes. He’s incredibly patient. I think he’s got a great way with the young players. He’s very positive with them.”
Mattingly is very lucky to keep his job for at least one more year. Most MLB franchises expect a winning team and he has only done it once. Mattingly needs to have this club perform better next season if they miss the postseason this year. If Miami begins slowly or doesn’t earn a playoff spot, he could be gone. At least the organization has faith in him and believes in him for the 2022 season.
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