Mattingly adds needed dose of wisdom as young Blue Jays look to take next step

TORONTO – Over 1,785 big-league video games as a star major-league participant, one other 1,839 as a supervisor plus seven seasons in between as a hitting or bench coach, Don Mattingly has constructed a uniquely deep and diversified catalogue of baseball knowledge to attract from.

As the brand new bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays, a hiring introduced by the membership Wednesday, the 61-year-old will apply it to a nonetheless younger staff seeking to push past its two-game loss within the wild-card spherical after a 92-70 season.

“I’ve always found out there’s no reason to offer it if they don’t want it, let’s start with that,” Mattingly quipped of his method to working with gamers throughout a Zoom chat with media. “There are alternative ways to get issues throughout and there are various things that trigger issues. Sometimes it’s the swing itself, generally it’s the considering on the plate, both method or lack of method, an understanding of that.

“So you just have conversations and really, you have to build trust with these guys. They have to trust that you’re there to help. I’ve always come from that kind of teaching point, that, hey, I’m not here for me, I’m here for you and I want to help you in any way I can. If I’m suggesting something that doesn’t work for you and doesn’t fit, then get rid of it and it’s not going to hurt my feelings.”

Mattingly’s addition is prone to be the one vital change to supervisor John Schneider’s teaching workers, with normal supervisor Ross Atkins saying everybody else shall be again with the membership in some capability. Casey Candaele, who joined the Blue Jays as interim bench coach after the July firing of Charlie Montoyo, returns to triple-A Buffalo to handle the Bisons.

While there might be some minor tweaks on the big-league stage, pitching coach Pete Walker and bullpen coach Matt Buschmann rightfully return, with hitting coach Guillermo Martinez, assistant Hunter Mense and hitting strategist Dave Hudgens main the offence.

Given his stature as a six-time all-star and former AL MVP, Mattingly will work with hitters “more from a big picture and psychology standpoint as players want to lean on him and as coaches want to lean on him, but not from a leadership standpoint,” mentioned Atkins.

His precise day-to-day duties are a piece in progress and can evolve over time, added Atkins, however the Blue Jays consider Mattingly “can help us take another step from challenging one another to be the best we can be from a staff standpoint, from a player standpoint.”

Part of that’s the manner the longtime New York Yankees star and former Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami Marlins supervisor will assist “with accountability, which will be huge for us,” mentioned Atkins, a trait he talked about a few instances. “Coming from someone with his experiences to help players remember where to focus, where the important levers are to be pulling and how to give back to the process, he certainly has the credibility and experience to do that in a significant way.”

Mattingly – who shall be reunited with 5 former Marlins in Yimi Garcia, Adam Cimber, Trevor Richards, Anthony Bass and Zach Pop and an ex-Dodger in Hyun Jin Ryu – mentioned he didn’t plan on working so quickly after parting with the Marlins, however was impressed by Atkins’ ardour for the membership.

He’d had curiosity from different groups, too, however didn’t pursue these and was satisfied to affix the Blue Jays after conversations with Schneider, who led a variety course of with 4 candidates pared down from an preliminary listing of 45.

Having seen the Blue Jays a handful of instances in latest seasons, Mattingly was intrigued to affix a staff the place “all the ingredients are there to win.”

A 19^th-round choose within the 1979 draft who developed right into a deeply admired {and professional} hitter who batted .307/.358/.471 over a 14-year profession spent fully with the Yankees, Mattingly ought to provide a wanted and necessary dose of been-there, done-that.

“I feel like I’ve been through all phases of just getting to the league and trying to prove yourself and wanting to go show people that you can play, going through different stages, arbitration, contracts, struggles,” mentioned Mattingly. “All these issues are the identical. We speak about how a lot the sport retains altering and evolving, however when a man’s 0-for-15, he’s feeling similar to I did once I was a participant, so that you draw upon that.

“Then as a coach, you’re drawing upon relationships that you have, experiences, interactions you’ve had with players, some of them that may not have gone right or the way you want them to go. You make changes. You go at it a different way. And so you use everything that comes across your plate, however that works, to get your message across.”