The Toronto Blue Jays are going to the World Series for the first time since 1993 after beating the Seattle Mariners, 4-3, in a thrilling Game 7 of the American League Championship Series on Monday night.
While their trip to the World Series is huge for all of their players and fans, it's also special for former New York Yankees great, Don Mattingly.
Mattingly, who spent his entire playing career with the Yankees and won the AL MVP award in 1985, is the bench coach for the Blue Jays. This will be his first-ever trip to the World Series as he never made it that far in either his playing days or during his coaching career, which has seen him manage the Dodgers and the Marlins.
Don Mattingly has been in MLB since 1982.
— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) October 21, 2025
14 as a player, 12 as a manager, 17 as a coach.
Now after over 40 years in MLB, he's headed to the World Series for the first time 💙 pic.twitter.com/eUSpV6dvtF
Mattingly managed the Dodgers from 2011-15. He won three NL West titles during the time but only made it to the NLCS once in 2013 where his team lost to the Cardinals in six games. The next two seasons the Dodgers only made it to the NLDS.
He then managed the Marlins from 2016-22 but only made the playoffs once, losing in the NLDS in 2020.
Here are some more wild stats that show how Mattingly narrowly missed out on a number of chances to make it to the World Series:
Mattingly has been the Blue Jays' bench coach since 2022. Now he's in his first World Series at the age of 64.
Fans are thrilled for him:
My heart is full!! My childhood sport idol is finally going to the big show!!! It’s not as a bomber but it will have to due. #pinstripepride https://t.co/3CqPFsX9eL
— NCBRUINS BASEBALL (@ncbruins) October 21, 2025
Baseball is a beautiful game https://t.co/EvHbj8nAMa
— Jeffrey Swarr (@mr_swarr) October 21, 2025
Feel good story of the #WorldSeries! Mattingly also has worked for both the #Dodgers and #BlueJays too! https://t.co/Piv5ebeLJG
— Fanteractive.com (@Fanteractive) October 21, 2025
Could not be happier for a great man. https://t.co/z6dWqtqs08
— Glenn Geffner (@GlennGeffner) October 21, 2025
Now I have to root for Toronto … https://t.co/YEm6v5CGxw
— Jason Vetter (@jvetter23) October 21, 2025
Really happy for him. He was incredibly kind, thoughtful and patient to me as a rookie reporter learning baseball from scratch more than 10 years ago. Always loved his vibe too.
— Rodrigo Azurmendi (@RodAzurmendi) October 21, 2025
Congrats! https://t.co/UnLmFZCxCf
Good for #DonnieBaseball, a lifer. In #NYC back when, you didn't have to be a #Yankees fan to marvel at what a complete #baseball player he was. Well earned! As if I needed another reason to root for Canada to defeat the Dodgers juggernaut. Go Toronto!🇨🇦 #WorldSeries #WANTITALL https://t.co/A5m4OmqZjX
— Lou DiBella🥊 (@loudibella) October 21, 2025
What a ride for Donnie Baseball.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why Blue Jays’ Trip to World Series is So Special for Yankees Legend Don Mattingly.
