Mattingly Manager of the Year By Jason Taylor

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Theathletic.com 


Not a single soul connected to baseball can argue that Don Mattingly is the 2020 manager of the year. All due respect to the other managers who led their teams to great records and deep playoff runs like Dave Roberts of the Dodgers and Jayce Tingler of the Padres but neither of them could do what Mattingly did.

The 2020 Miami Marlins were destined for their 11th straight losing season especially after a COVID outbreak, 174 roster moves, injuries, a difficult schedule and overall just a subpar team. Some people will call it luck or a one year wonder but those are just angry fans who saw their teams get beat this year. Mattingly led his team of young undeveloped players to the playoffs by simply letting them play baseball. He let his speedsters steal bases not worried if they were going to be thrown out. He changed his pitchers about as frequently as he could so his arms wouldn't get tired when the Fish had to play 28 games in 24 days. Mattingly’s attitude however, was his greatest asset to the team. He helped his players be confident in their ability to play which made the game fun for. “We’ve got a team that plays loose. We’ve got nothing to lose. We’re playing with house money” said reliever Brandon Kintzler(bleacher report). 

Don Mattingly possibly had the greatest managerial season in the history of baseball. He led the Marlins to the playoffs for the first time since 2003 with a roster that had guys you’ve never heard of. Mattingly will be happy with this award, but I guarantee that he will be hungry for more.  

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