The 2019 Major League Baseball season toiled on, and uncertainty was in Don Mattingly's future.
His four-year contract as the Miami Marlins' manager expired at the end of the season. A season on its way to 100-plus losses took a toll on him mentally and emotionally, a side effect from being thrust into a rebuild midway through his contract. "That's not something you want to go through as a manager," Mattingly said. "Trust me."
But Mattingly was certain about the direction the franchise was heading and that, if given the opportunity, he wanted to stay.
He was there for the teardown. He was there to see all the big names he had at his disposal shipped away one by one. He was there to see the prospects acquired in return show their potential in the minor leagues while he battled two losing seasons that totaled a collective 120-203 record.
After enduring the pain that comes with starting a rebuild, he wanted to be there to see the results that came from it, good or bad. He wanted a chance to see if the prospects lived up to their billing, a chance to finish what was started on his watch.
"I said it from the beginning. I love young players. I love watching them grow and get better," Mattingly said. "You also like to see them get to the finish line and not just help them get three-quarters of the way and turn them over to somebody else who gets to enjoy all the fruits of when you were freaking putting all the trees in and digging all the dirt and everything else."
Fast forward to today, and Mattingly is still digging the dirt, still watching the seeds sprout and looking for the chance to reap what has been sowed.
The Marlins gave Mattingly, 58, a two-year contract extension at the end of the 2019 season with a mutual option that could keep him in Miami through the 2022 season.
More than enough time to know whether the Marlins' rebuild was going to work out or burst into flames.
Mattingly's mindset is toward the former. His sense of optimism was evident throughout spring training until ongoing coronavirus pandemic postponed team activities two weeks before Opening Day. He watched the team's young players, the kids, stake their claim and show they could have a future with the club.
His awareness of the heightened expectations were there, too. Losing seasons need to be a thing of the past sooner rather than later.
He was ready to continue with that challenge.
"It's challenging," Mattingly said, "but I think it's going to be very satisfying as we're starting to get over the hump and start to get that momentum."
