Evansville's Don Mattingly gets another shot at baseball's Hall of Fame

Don Mattingly may have found a new avenue to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Mattingly was among eight former big league players on the Contemporary Baseball Era player ballot to be reviewed and voted upon Dec. 4 at the Baseball Winter Meetings, according to BaseballHall.org.

The Modern Era Ballot named the Evansville native a finalist in 2017, but he got fewer than seven votes from the 16-member committee, with 12 needed for election. Mattingly was considered again by the Veterans Committee in 2019, but failed to get enough votes to make Cooperstown.

A three-time Silver Slugger award winner playing first base for the New York Yankees, Mattingly was the 1984 American League batting champion and 1985 Most Valuable Player. He compiled a .307 batting average in 14 seasons, all with the Yankees. He earned six All-Star selections and nine Gold Glove awards.

“I am honored to be considered for the Baseball Hall of Fame,” Mattingly told the Courier & Press via a text message. “Baseball has had a huge impact on my life and I am grateful for everything it has given me.”

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Mattingly served as a MLB manager for 12 seasons, guiding the Los Angeles Dodgers to three successive National League West Division titles. He led the Miami Marlins to a playoff berth in 2020, their first since 2003, earning NL Manager of the Year honors.

Mattingly stepped down as Marlins' manager on Sept. 25; his contract expired at the end of the season.

"I think you always try to follow your heart," Mattingly told the Associated Press. "And that's what I do. Honestly, you know what's inside of you and you try to be deliberate and let things work through, and you just follow your heart and you know when it's the right thing."

Albert Belle, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Fred McGriff, Dale Murphy, Rafael Palmeiro and Curt Schilling are the other candidates on the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee will consider for Hall of Fame election for the Class of 2023.

Any candidate who receives votes on 75 percent of the ballots case by the 16-member Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee will earn election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and will be inducted in Cooperstown on July 23, 2023, along with those who emerge from the 2023 Baseball Writers' Association of America election, to be announced on Jan. 23, 2023.

The Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee is one of three groups eligible for consideration as part of the Era Committee process, which provides a way for Hall of Fame consideration to managers, umpires and executives, as well as players retired for more than 15 seasons.

Contact Gordon Engelhardt via email at gordon.engelhardt@courierpress.com or on Twitter @EngGordon.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Don Mattingly up again for entry to Baseball Hall of Fame