Miami Marlins Choose Don Mattingly As Manager

The Miami Marlins hired Don Mattingly as their new manager on Thursday, merely seven days after cutting ties with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mattingly has been signed as part of a four-year deal, according to an anonymous source. He was originally supposed to remain with the Dodgers for one more year, according to his contract. He led the Dodgers to three consecutive NL West titles, a first in franchise history. Marlins GM Dan Jennings was fired on Thursday.

Mattingly, who spent five seasons with the Dodgers, will be the Marlins’ eight manager since 2010. He will direct a much younger team in Miami this season, a squad that includes outfielder Giancarlo Stanton and pitcher Jose Fernandez. The opening payroll for the Marlins will also be less than one-third that of the Dodgers.

The Marlins’s new manager has a 446-363 (.551) record as manager, the sixth-highest winning percentage in franchise history. Before that, he was also a six-time All-Star and a .307 hitter for the New York Yankees from 1982 to 1995.  Mattingly stated about his departure: “As we kept talking, it just became clear that this was the right time,” Mattingly said of his departure. “I think it was best for me and for the club.” He was referring, of course, to the president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman, and general manager Farhan Zaidi.