Back in Toronto as Phillies interim manager, Don Mattingly reflects on Blue Jays’ run to the World Series
Mattingly was the Blue Jays' bench coach for three years and took the same role with the Phillies this offseason. He became interim manager when Rob Thomson was fired.
TORONTO — Moments after the Blue Jays’ World Series hopes dwindled away in Game 7 against the Dodgers last November, Don Mattingly sat in Toronto’s dugout and looked out at the field at Rogers Centre.
Bo Bichette, who departed the Jays for the Mets in free agency a few months later, shared a hug with his bench coach before they disappeared into the clubhouse.
“I was just kind of watching the end of it, and taking it in,” Mattingly said. “I usually get out of the dugout after a game, but that one I just kind of watched, took it in, and then Bo came over.”
On Monday, Mattingly was sitting at that ballpark but in the opposite dugout, now as the Phillies’ interim manager. It marked his first visit to the Rogers Centre since the 11-inning, 5-4 loss that cemented the Dodgers as back-to-back champions.
Over his more than four decades in baseball as a player, manager, and coach, 2025 was Mattingly’s first time being involved in a World Series.
“What I learned: It’s hard to get there; it’s hard to move through each round,” he said. “Just emotional, right? If you’re the team that doesn’t get the last out, it’s a crash. No matter if it’s at that level or it’s the first round. That feeling is the same.
“But once you get away from that, from last year’s standpoint, you really are proud of the team, right? What they were able to accomplish, the guys that are in there, and you feel for those guys, and they kind of laid their hearts out there.”
Mattingly spent three years as bench coach for Blue Jays manager John Schneider. He stepped down after the World Series, as he felt like he had accomplished his goal of helping Schneider, a younger manager, establish himself.
He couldn’t have predicted that five months later, he would be managing again. Mattingly initially planned to retire but changed his mind after he was approached by the Phillies in the offseason for their open bench coach job. And after Rob Thomson was fired following the Phillies’ slow start, Mattingly was back at the helm.
He said he’s taken many lessons from his previous stops into his position.
“I think a lot, the way Schneids does things, and the way Toronto actually does things,” Mattingly said. “But I can say the same from everywhere. From Miami, I can say the same from LA, I could say the same from being around Joe Torre with his staff. So you’re always taking. I always try to take from everyone, good or bad. Take the bad, and know that that’s not what you want to do, right? So I’m taking all the time.”
» READ MORE: Don’t blame Rob Thomson for the Phillies' flawed roster | Marcus Hayes
With this series against Toronto, Mattingly’s familiarity also gives him a leg up with game-planning.
“It’s a little less having to totally go through a club you don’t know anything about,” he said. “Like a lot of the White Sox guys we just got done playing, there was a lot of new faces that I hadn’t seen play before. It makes me more comfortable. I don’t know if it makes it easier, but I definitely kind of know who these guys are, in a sense, and how they use them. But you still got to get outs, and make plays, and all that kind of thing.”
Extra bases
Justin Crawford sat against Blue Jays left-hander Patrick Corbin on Monday, with Edmundo Sosa drawing into the lineup at left field and Brandon Marsh sliding to center. … Zack Wheeler (5-1, 2.31 ERA) is scheduled to start against Blue Jays righty Dylan Cease (3-3, 3.05) on Tuesday. Cease will be making his first start since he was placed on the injured list on May 25 with a left hamstring strain.