Has anyone seen the linked article? Heard about this prior? I have been a huge MAttingly fan from his first days as a Yankee and never heard about this. Kind of funny.
As an aside, last week I showed Mattingly highlights to my boys. They loved it, but their favorite wasn't gameplay. It was him stealing the popcorn from the kid in the first row. Man, did I love to watch him play. There were games in the late 80s and early 90s where there were less than 20K fans and it seemed like everyone was there only to see Mattingly. I don't recall him ever disappointing me in person.
My favorite in person sporting experience was Game 2 of the ALDS. Hang on to the roof was the right call for Mattingly's HR. That was the loudest and craziest I ever heard the Stadium. We were seated in the very last row of the Stadium and you could feel it shaking.
How old is Mattingly? - (
New Window )
Game was nuts, so many lead changes, when Leyritz won it in the 15th in the rain it was awesome.
Winning pitcher that night, Mariano Rivera.
Game was nuts, so many lead changes, when Leyritz won it in the 15th in the rain it was awesome.
Winning pitcher that night, Mariano Rivera.
It wasn't until a few years later that I read about those last 2 - 2 1/2 months. He kind of smelled the playoffs and realized the team was rallying around him as motivation. He went all out every day to enable himself to play. He was at the ballpark hours before everyone else getting treated, stretching, etc. He really spent every ounce of strength to go all out. Again, it wasn't until a few years later that I recall reading he was in so much pain he couldn't even sit on the flight home from Seattle. It made it easier to accept his retirement, even if it was in retrospect.
Reggie was my first favorite player, but Mattingly was my first idol. I loved watching him play and he is the reason I wore #23 in HS.
My loss I guess.
Stubborn I guess and gave up watching the Yankees; plus they weren’t on when I moved away.
Loved Mattingly.
Most grand slams in a single season - little known fact.
My loss I guess.
Stubborn I guess and gave up watching the Yankees; plus they weren’t on when I moved away.
Loved Mattingly.
Most grand slams in a single season - little known fact.
Game was nuts, so many lead changes, when Leyritz won it in the 15th in the rain it was awesome.
Winning pitcher that night, Mariano Rivera.
IMHO, that night is when the dynasty started even though several players and the manager would not be back. By far, one of my all-time favorite single game yankee wins!
Also of note was how that playoff stretch run taught a lot of that team how to win and really helped the core gel. The loss in the ALDS also taught them a lot. Having their young players in Jeter and Posada in uniform on the bench, even though not on the roster, also went a long way in forming that core for 1996.
Showalter and Michael really deserve way more credit than they get in the media and among baseball analysts/historians when talking about the 1996 WS. Neither was still on board, but they really did most of the work building the team and molding those players (young and old). I loved the job Torre did, but he was handed a very good team that already had instilled in it professionalism and a desire to win. Watson did a good job rounding it out. Also, the Sierra for Fielder deal in 1996 proved to be crucial.
1982 was a mostly dismal year for this young Yankee fan. I hated losing Reggie and hated even more seeing him tear it up with the Angels because I never thought he was done in the first place. Then they never really replaced him. A lineup for a few more years with Reggie and Winfield wold have been nice. At least late that year my first true idol made his debut in Mattingly, although it wasn't until 1983 that I fell in love him. Nobody has come close to capturing my heart as an athlete since.