In Don Mattingly’s eyes, good luck to Joe Torre’s replacement.
“I would think it’s like following John Wooden or something,” Mattingly said yesterday. “This guy wins championship after championship and they’re in the playoffs every year. It’s pretty much a no-win situation to live up to expectations.”
Mattingly is the Yankees’ bench coach, but he could end up being their manager, depending on what happens with Torre. Yesterday at Yankee Stadium, the day after the team’s season ended with an ALDS loss to the Indians, Mattingly talked about both Torre (making a plea for what he deems proper treatment) and his own managerial future (no urgency).
“Joe Torre needs to be treated with respect,” Mattingly said, “and anything less than that would be unacceptable.”
Mattingly, who was bench coach this season and the team’s hitting coach from 2003-06, said he spoke to Torre yesterday.
“To me, he sounds like he’s in a pretty good frame of mind,” Mattingly said.
As for managing, Mattingly was hardly campaigning to get the nod right now.
“I think I’ve made it pretty clear that in some timetable, I would like an opportunity to manage,” the 46-year-old said. “But I’m not worried about the timetable.”
Due to the fact that Torre’s successor will have gigantic managerial shoes to fill, Mattingly called replacing Torre “not necessarily a great situation.”
But Doug Mientkiewicz, who gushed about Torre yesterday, said, “I think Donnie would be awesome. He’s got a great baseball mind.”
Additional reporting by George King.