PHILADELPHIA — The National League is a whole new ballgame, but the move from Manhattan to Manhattan Beach has been a huge success for Donnie Baseball.
Don Mattingly said lessons learned under George Steinbrenner have helped him succeed in Los Angeles, where he now is teamed up with Magic Johnson, the face of the ownership group that put down $2.15 billion to buy the Dodgers.
“It was kind of survival,’’ Mattingly told The Post last night at Citizens Bank Park of his days with the Boss and the Yankees. “I learned to take care of business on the field.’’
That’s what the Dodgers, without Matt Kemp, did last night, beating the Phillies 4-3 to improve to 34-21, the best record in the major leagues. Mattingly was ejected in the sixth inning, protecting his pitcher Clayton Kershaw after home plate umpire D.J. Reyburn ejected Dodgers bench coach Trey Hillman.
“When he threw Trey out, [Reyburn] was just standing there, I said, ‘What are you doing, you’re going to let my Cy Young winner [Kershaw] here standing in the rain?’ and he threw me out. I couldn’t believe it. Maybe it’s the TV game. I know they are on ESPN. Maybe they should not put him behind the plate, put a better guy back there. It was bad. It was bad both ways.’’
The Boss would be proud of that shot at the ump.
How does an Indiana guy and lifelong Larry Bird fan deal with Magic?
Mattingly, 51, smiled that boyish smile and said, “That was hard. I talked to him about it, I said, ‘Man, you killed me, you got us in the [NCAA] Tournament, the NBA. I told him, ‘I’m glad to be on your team, now.’ ’’
Magic and Donnie Baseball, a pretty good team.
Mattingly loves Los Angeles. If he keeps this up, he could win Manager of the Year his second year on the job. In some ways, the Dodgers are the West Coast version of the Mets. Mattingly and Mets manager Terry Collins have done impressive work through 55 games.
Mattingly is quick to credit his coaches. “It’s not all that complicated,’’ he said. “I ask our guys to get ready to play every day. It’s a grind. We know we are going to have tough times and we are kind of going through it right now, but we keep getting ready to play every day.’’
With the change in ownership, Mattingly said, “This year has been easy compared to last year. Last year was really negative. It was just so much about the ownership and the fans were up in arms.’’
The true test is in front of Mattingly with Kemp (hamstring) sidelined again. Last night’s win was only the second in their last eight games. Kemp has missed 18 games and is expected be out at least another month.
The pitching has been strong and Mattingly has turned to players such as career minor leaguer Elian Herrera, who knocked in the winning run last night; young Dee Gordon, who tripled off Jonathan Papelbon and scored that winning run, and catcher A.J. Ellis.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who can play and get after it,’’ Mattingly said.
Find a way, as Steinbrenner always said.
“The Boss was a proving ground,’’ Mattingly noted. “There was a lot of stuff going on. That prepared me for how to separate it all. That’s really what we try to do here. I ask all our guys that with what happens up above, when you get right down to the bottom line, it doesn’t really have anything to do with us making a good pitch or being in the right spot, getting something good to hit. The baseball part doesn’t get affected. We take care of our own business.’’
Mattingly’s Dodgers have done that. There is a bright future with new ownership.
“It’s been so great, the whole group,’’ Mattingly said. “The fans love Magic, he’s been in the locker room, he understands what you are trying to accomplish. The energy is really good right now.’’
There’s Magic and Mattingly energy.