Don Mattingly Fans' Website - Don Mattingly Day

Heading to Yankee Stadium early the morning of Don Mattingly Day, I still ran into Stadium traffic! I arrived at around 11:00, & the crowd outside looked like a baseball Woodstock. There were people everywhere. It seemed like everyone was wearing #23. I was hoping to upgrade my seats from upper level outfield, but my plans kept falling through, so Donnie was still going to look like a very nice dot to me. Finally the gates opened, & we ran all over the Stadium looking for the best place to hang my banner, "4 Ever Donnie Baseball". I wanted him to be able to see it. We found a great spot on the loge level overhang, & it looked pretty good!

Yankee Stadium looked beautiful & full, with its green grass & a clear blue sky. Back on the field level, we sat in some empty seats close to where Donnie would be speaking. Time ticked away & I was getting nervous. I was sure I'd have to go to the upper level before he came out & I wouldn't get to really see him. It was pretty nervewracking until it finally started (1/2 hr. late), & I began to realize that I was going to be able to stay there for Donnie's whole ceremony. It must have been fate the way all my ticket plans previously fell through, because I ended up where I could see his every expression! I think I saw him read my sign, too, as he took a good long look around while receiving one of many loud & long ovations. He looked happy.

The ceremony was intense & Donnie really handled it well. He was experiencing everything, & seemed to feel very emotional about it all. The best part was the incredible speech he wrote himself. It was straight from the heart, so eloquent, & showed how much he cares about his fans. This was the 1st time we got to hear his true feelings, & they were so well-expressed. I was moved by every line of this speech. (My favorite part was his thanks to the fans, which is repeated on my Cool Quotes page.) He had a beautiful thank you for Kim ("You have been the rock that has held me up all of these years...I love you!"). And when he thanked the fans for their "phenomenal" treatment of him, the crowd went wild.

Donnie added that he was proud to be a part of the Yankees organization & that the plaque "means more to me than you'll ever know." He said he gave everyone 100% of himself every time he went out on the field, tried to keep it pure & simple, & just play good baseball for us (which partly answers his question of why he deserves all this).

Every single gesture, whether it was a smile, a wave, or a kiss blown to the crowd showed he really understood, felt the love, & appreciated it so much. Although many people were crying, I was just overwhelmed by feeling so filled with love. It was an incredible exchange of love between Donnie & 56K people. The fans got their opportunity to express their love & appreciation, not just for a great play or hit in a game situation, but for the man personally. We were pretty loud! You could tell he got the message.

And Yankee Stadium finally felt right again for me with Donnie Baseball there. When he left, it felt empty.

This day rivalled my best baseball memory: Game 1 of the 1995 Playoffs - I was there when the house shook with thunderous cheers as much as on this day, & we made Donnie feel like he could fly.
by
Susan

My Top 10 Favorite Things About Don Mattingly Day:

Donnie's powerful & heartfelt speech.

Having the #23 retired, an honor reserved for only the greatest.
Taking his rightful place in Monument Park among fellow Yankee legends.
The crowd showing its love for him the way only Yankee fans can do.
Donnie enjoying the day & showing his love for his fans.
Chants of Donnie Baseball, reminiscent of the '95 Playoff Games.
Seeing him again in Yankee Stadium & being there to share this special day.
Throwing out the 1st pitch, but I wanted him to stay & play the game!
Watching Donnie's surprise at the presentation of the plaque.
The video of his career highlights, & all the special articles & interviews.

NEW YORK--This was mid-summer 1995, when Darryl Strawberry was still a stranger in the Yankee clubhouse. He remembers entering a room that, aside from David Cone, was thick with silence. It was not exactly a hostile room, but Strawberry realized he was facing a miniature social crisis.
"I was not sure if anyone wanted to be my friend," said the outfielder, who was returning to New York as a two-time drug offender and a convicted tax felon--so alienated from the baseball community even Buck Showalter kept his distance. But that changed the moment Don Mattingly approached Strawberry and offered his hand.
The Yankees captain realized he was expending enormous political capital, but he also was firm his belief that everyone, even Strawberry, deserved a second chance. All Mattingly asked from Darryl was that he play hard. The contract, simple and non-verbal, was sealed with their handshake in the middle of the locker room.
"I wanted Darryl to know that I did not care what had happened in the past, that as long as he was ready to play ball, he was welcome in my clubhouse," Mattingly said the other day. "I knew exactly what I was doing, and what I was saying. I knew that if I was on Darryl's side, it would be easier for him to make it in the Bronx. That is what I wanted."
That peace treaty is the reason why Strawberry said, "I will always respect Donnie. Always remember him in a good way."
That is only one of the reasons Mattingly's No. 23 was retired at Yankee Stadium Sunday, where he was honored in a moving, forty-minute pre-game ceremony. Sure, he compiled a .307 batting average, and won the American League's batting title in 1984, the was voted the league's Most Valuable Player Award in 1985.
But that's not the real reason the Yankees honored Mattingly. It was never about numbers with him. It was Mattingly's class--his pure, unrelenting love of baseball, the kind that prompted Joe Torre to say, "Donnie was part of a dying breed."
It is an old saying among major leaguers, that the hardest part of succeeding is succeeding every day. The minor leagues are littered with players who are, perhaps, more talented than their big league counterparts--but simply lack the blind discipline it takes to becomes a true star.
That was Mattingly, alright--average size, average strength, not much running speed. Yet, he was arguably New York's best first baseman in the years Keith Hernandez was in his prime. Just how did Mattingly compete? Paul O'Neill said, "Everything Donnie had, he got by working hard. That is why I admired him. It was all hard work and discipline."
"It is like he never, ever gave away an at-bat. I still think about that," said Bernie Williams. "What I will remember about Donnie is that he taught me to treat every at-bat like it was my first ... or last. It is the hardest thing, having total concentration every day of the season. He was always ready."
To this, Mattingly just smiled. "That is just the way I always was. Working hard and being prepared were the only way I knew."
You do not have to ask the Yankees if they miss him. Of course they do. But there is a certain peace that has come with Mattingly's retirement, one even his closest friends share. Mattingly is flying well below the Bombers' radar screen, devoted now to his family in Evansville, Indiana and his new passion, showhorses.
Mattingly says, "My biggest focus now is being with my kids. I know a lot of people say to me, "Donnie, you have to do something with your life." Well, Kim and I are doing something. I am with my kids at their games, being a part of their lives. If these guys grow up healthy and feeling good about themselves, that is a big deal for me."
You knew even a year ago Mattingly would cherish his anonymity. That is when Tino Martinez was in his first summer in the Bronx, trying desperately to exorcise Mattingly's ghost--and failing. Martinez was batting only .244 in April, convinced Yankee fans would never let go of the franchise's most popular player since...well, since Munson.
Relax, Martinez told himself. Be yourself. The hits will comes. Martinez' inner voice screamed this advice, but no one was listening. Least of all Martinez. Then, one day that month, when Martinez called his agent, Tampa- based Jim Krivacs, he heard the voice of a surprise ally.
"All you have to do is relax, and everything will fall into place," said the voice. It took Martinez a moment to realize it was Mattingly, who was also a Krivacs client, and happened to be in his agent's office that day.
The conversation between the two lasted only a few moments. They spoke the macho- shorthand that athletes understand best. Still, the message was absorbed perfectly by Martinez, who went on to hit .292, with 25 home runs and 117 RBIs.
Mattingly could have made life harder for Martinez--simply by being around the Stadium more often. But Mattingly made sure he was invisible, out of respect for Martinez and the miracle summer the Yankees were building. But even today, Mattingly's presence brings back a rush of memories, the most lasting of which is the 1995 playoffs.
Who can forget the final images, in the post-defeat clubhouse after Game Five? The Yankees season had just ended on Edgar Martinez' eleventh-inning double into the left field corner, scoring Ken Griffey all the way from first base. Nearly all the Yankees were stunned. Some, like Jack McDowell and Showalter, wept openly.
Mattingly's eyes were red and moist and his voice was hoarse from exhaustion. But there was a finality to his words that told you his career was over. After waiting twelve years to make it to October, Mattingly batted .417 against Seattle, and said, "We left everything on the field. No one has anything to be ashamed of. It was all out there."
With that memory, and so many like it, Mattingly exits as he played--as the most popular Yankee of this generation. -by Bob Klapisch
For additional coverage & reviews of DM Day, visit theWeb Courier Don Mattingly Page