MVP Profile: Don Mattingly, 1985

First Baseman, New York Yankees

Age:  24 (April 20)

3^rd season with Yankees

Bats – Left, Throws – Left

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 175 

Prior to 1985:

A native of Evansville, Indiana, Mattingly was a three-sport star at Reitz Memorial High School in football and basketball as well as baseball. With an excellent work ethic, he drew much attention from scouts and was chosen by the Yankees in the 1979 amateur draft. He signed and was initially assigned to Oneonta of the short-season Class A New York-Pennsylvania League where the 18-year-old batted .349 in 53 games. Advancing to Greensboro of the Class A South Atlantic League in 1980 where he hit a league-leading .358 with 32 doubles, 9 home runs, and 105 RBIs. Moving up to the Nashville Sounds of the Class AA Southern League in 1981, Mattingly batted .316 with 35 doubles, 7 home runs, and 98 RBIs. Appreciated as much for his defensive play in the outfield and at first base as well as his hitting, he was promoted to the Columbus Clippers of the Class AAA International League in 1982, where he hit .315 with 24 doubles, 10 home runs, and 75 RBIs, earning a September trial with the Yankees where he appeared in seven games and produced two hits. Gaining a roster spot with the Yankees in 1983, he was rarely used and was sent back to Columbus, where he hit .340 until getting another shot with the Yankees in June when reserve DH/pinch-hitter Bobby Murcer retired. Filling in as a reserve outfielder and first baseman, Mattingly appeared in 91 games for the Yanks and batted .283. He became the starting first baseman in 1984 thanks to a strong spring and got off to a hot start. Showing more power than he had during his climb up the minor league ladder, he finished with 23 home runs to go along with a league-leading 44 doubles and edged teammate Dave Winfield for the batting title (.343 to .340) in the season finale. He also topped the AL with 207 hits. His RBIs totaled 110 and he had a .381 OBP and .537 slugging percentage while performing ably at first base. Mattingly placed fifth in league MVP voting.  

1985 Season Summary

Appeared in 159 games

1B – 159

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 727 [4]

At Bats – 652 [4]

Runs – 107 [6, tied with Wade Boggs]

Hits – 211 [2]

Doubles – 48 [1]

Triples – 3

Home Runs – 35 [4]

RBI – 145 [1]

Bases on Balls – 56

Int. BB – 13 [3]

Strikeouts – 41

Stolen Bases – 2

Caught Stealing – 2

Average - .324 [3]

OBP - .371 [10, tied with Rod Carew & Brian Downing]

Slugging Pct. - .567 [2]

Total Bases – 370 [1]

GDP – 15

Hit by Pitches – 2

Sac Hits – 2

Sac Flies – 15 [1]

League-leading doubles were +2 ahead of runner-up Bill Buckner

League-leading RBIs were +21 ahead of runner-up Eddie Murray

League-leading total bases were +48 ahead of runner-up George Brett

League-leading sac flies were +2 ahead of runner-up Tom Brunansky

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 27, HR - 9, RBI - 69, AVG - .309, SLG - .481, OBP - .348

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 4 AB) at Oakland 5/25, (in 7 AB) at Oakland 8/26 – 15 innings, (in 6 AB) at Milwaukee 9/9 – 10 innings, (in 5 AB) at Toronto 10/6

Longest hitting streak – 20 games

HR at home – 22

HR on road – 13

Most home runs, game – 2 on five occasions

Multi-HR games – 5

Most RBIs, game – 4 on five occasions

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding

Chances – 1412

Put Outs – 1318

Assists – 87

Errors – 7

DP – 154

Pct. - .995

Awards & Honors:

AL MVP: BBWAA

MLB Player of the Year: Sporting News

Gold Glove

Silver Slugger

All-Star

Top 5 in AL MVP Voting:

Don Mattingly, NYY.: 367 pts. - 23 of 28 first place votes, 94% share

George Brett, KCR: 274 pts. – 5 first place votes, 70% share

Rickey Henderson, NYY: 174 pts. – 44% share

Wade Boggs, Bos.: 159 pts. – 41% share

Eddie Murray, Balt.: 130 pts. – 33% share

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Yankees went 97-64 to finish second in the AL Eastern Division, 2 games behind the division-winning Toronto Blue Jays, while leading the league in runs scored (839), RBIs (793), and stolen bases (155). Owner George Steinbrenner replaced manager Yogi Berra with Billy Martin 16 games into the season and the club struggled until the second half of June into July, when they were 2.5 games out at the All-Star break. Another slump was followed by a surge that had the Yanks closely trailing the Blue Jays until derailed by an eight-game September losing streak, although they won 10 of their next 12 to fall short of Toronto at season’s end. The addition of CF Rickey Henderson and Mattingly’s hitting spurred the club’s impressive offensive production. 

Aftermath of ‘85:

Mattingly followed up with another strong season in 1986, batting .352 with 31 home runs and 113 RBIs while leading the AL with 238 hits, 53 doubles, a .573 slugging percentage, and 388 total bases. He placed second in league MVP balloting. Starting off in a slump in 1987 he was back in his usual hitting groove when he was sidelined by a back injury in June. Returning to action after three weeks on the shelf, he went on a hitting tear that included home runs in a record-tying eight consecutive games. He went on to hit a record six grand slams during the season, after having never hit one during his major league career previously. At season’s end, despite missing 21 games to injury, he batted .327 with 30 home runs and 115 RBIs and placed seventh in American League MVP voting. Mattingly’s production dropped somewhat in 1988 to .311 with 37 doubles, 18 home runs, and 88 RBIs although he remained an All-Star and Gold Glove recipient at first base. The numbers were similar in 1989 as “Donnie Baseball” batted .303 with 37 doubles, 23 home runs, and 113 RBIs. In 1990 he was rewarded with a five-year, $19.3 million contract extension. Chronic back trouble (which would affect the remainder of his playing career) limited him to 102 games in which he hit .256 with just 5 home runs and 42 RBIs. Following a rigorous offseason training regimen, Mattingly was named team captain for 1991. While taking his leadership role very seriously, he also feuded with Yankee management, asking to be traded and sanctioned for his failure to get a haircut in accordance with club rules, which proved to be a public relations fiasco for the team. His production at the plate was .288 with 35 doubles, 9 home runs, and 68 RBIs. The floundering Yankees showed slight improvement in 1992 and Mattingly again batted .288 while hitting 40 doubles and 14 home runs along with 86 RBIs. Further improvement came in 1993 and Mattingly batted .291 with 17 home runs and 86 RBIs. During the strike-shortened 1994 season, he hit .304 with 6 home runs and 51 RBIs. The Yankees reached the postseason for the only time in Mattingly’s career in 1995, and he contributed a .288 average, .341 on-base percentage, 7 home runs and 49 RBIs. In his only taste of postseason action, he hit .417 with a home run and 6 RBIs in the ALDS loss to the Seattle Mariners. Choosing to sit out the 1996 season, Mattingly retired in 1997. For his major league career, spent entirely with the Yankees, “The Hit Man” batted .307 with 2153 hits that included 442 doubles, 20 triples, and 222 home runs. He scored 1007 runs and compiled 1099 RBIs while producing a .358 OBP and .471 slugging percentage. A six-time All-Star, Mattingly also was awarded nine Gold Gloves and three Silver Sluggers. He finished in the top 10 in league MVP voting four times, winning once, and the Yankees retired his #23. Mattingly has utilized his leadership ability and baseball knowledge as a manager, thus far with the Dodgers and Marlins. Through 2021 his teams have produced a record of 446-363 and he was NL Manager of the Year in 2020.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.