Yankees legend Don Mattingly is going to his first World Series originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The New York Yankees and going to the World Series felt hand in hand for so much of their history.
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But one Yankees legend never made it to the Fall Classic: Don Mattingly.
That has changed, although Mattingly isn’t wearing a Yankees uniform to do it.
Mattingly is the Toronto Blue Jays’ bench coach. And after an epic Game 7 win in the ALCS, Mattingly and the Blue Jays will go to the World Series to take on the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
That smile says it all.
MORE: Blue Jays, heroic George Springer seize ALCS Game 7 moment to go to World Series
Mattingly was a fan favorite in his time in the Bronx. And even in a different AL East team’s uniform now, Yankees fans will surely want to see Donny Baseball get it done and hoist a trophy.
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The Yankees first got Mattingly in the 1979 draft in the 19th round out of an Evansville-area high school, and the rest is history.
Mattingly batted .307 in his Yankees career. He won a batting title and an MVP. He made six All-Star teams and took home nine Gold Gloves.
Mattingly was with the Yankees from 1982-1995. They won the World Series in his first year of retirement.
Now, though, that’s all in the past. Mattingly will get to be a part of the final baseball series of the year, and that’s pretty cool.
