Ex-Marlins manager Mattingly returns with Blue Jays to face former club

MIAMI (AP) — Don Mattingly has moved on from his seven-season managerial tenure in Miami but closely monitors the club’s solid start through the first 72 games of the season.

Mattingly, now a bench coach with the Toronto Blue Jays, returned to Miami on Monday for a three-game series.

“I’ve been on this side a few different times but it’s been a while since I’ve been on the visiting side,” Mattingly said before the series opener. “It’s always good flying into Miami. It’s one of those places you’ve been long enough you know where you’re at. It’s a good feeling walking into the ballpark, even though it’s a different entrance.”

Also different since Mattingly left is Miami’s performance. The Marlins began Monday 41-31 and second in the NL East. They are 10 games over .500 for the first time since May 2011.

“Obviously, I’m happy for the guys I had over there,” Mattingly said. “And (general manager) Kim (Ng) built it the way she wanted it and is doing some things she wanted to do. It’s good to see her have success. And we’ll see where we go. Hopefully, we meet up in a really good place.”

The 62-year-old Mattingly and Marlins management mutually agreed to part ways after the 2022 season. In his seven seasons with the club, Mattingly guided the Marlins to a 443-587 record.

Two seasons into Mattingly’s Miami stint, new ownership opted for an organizational overhaul. Gone in trades for minor league prospects were 2017 NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton, future MVP Christian Yelich and All-Stars J.T. Realmuto and Marcell Ozuna.

As a result, Marlins squads during the remainder of Mattingly’s tenure languished in the NL East standings. The lone exception was the 2020 club which ended a 17-year playoff drought in the pandemic shortened season, earning Mattingly NL Manager of the Year.

First-year Marlins manager Skip Schumaker appreciated the lessons learned from Mattingly in the season he played with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013. Before joining the Marlins in 2016, Mattingly guided the Dodgers for five seasons.

“Donnie was great to me in 2013,” Schumaker said. “It was one of my favorite years in the big leagues. He was a players’ manager. I remember that the most. He really cared about the player. He’s really a good man and person. I’ve learned a lot from him.”