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The Yankees’ Own Legend Now Stands in Their Way

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kristie Ackert | Last updated Oct 6, 2025 5:55 PM ET

Highlights

Boone praised Don Mattingly as universally respected across generations.
Yankees manager grew up watching him in the 1980s.
Mattingly is now on the other side of the playoff battle with Toronto.
Nostalgia meets rivalry in Yankees–Blue Jays Division Series.

The New York Yankees return to the Bronx on Tuesday night, fighting to save their season. Across the field, in the Toronto Blue Jays dugout, a Yankees legend is going to be trying to end the 2025 Yankees.

Still, in Yankee Stadium, Don Mattingly is never the enemy.

Asked about Don Mattingly before Game 3 of the American League Division Series, Yankees skipper Aaron Boone spoke like a fan as much as a manager.

“The utmost respect,” Boone said. “When I played here, he was kind of transitioning back into coaching, and I got to be around Donny then. He was one of my favorite players in the ’80s when I was growing up and a guy that I loved watching.”

A Bridge Across Generations

Mattingly’s name still resonates in the Bronx.

A career Yankee from 1982 to 1995, he was the face of the franchise in an era that bridged the team’s late-1970s glory to its late-1990s dynasty. Though he never won a title as a player, his bat and glove defined a generation of Yankees fans.

Boone noted that Mattingly’s reputation is bigger than his stats.

“Across even different generations, he’s one of those guys who has the utmost respect from so many people,” Boone said. “Just who he is, the way he treats people, you’d be hard pressed to find a bad word about Donny.”

New York Yankees first baseman Don Mattingly in 1992RVR Photos-Imagn Images

The Legacy of Donnie Baseball

Few players captured the Yankees’ identity in the 1980s like Mattingly. He won the 1985 American League MVP, collected nine Gold Gloves, and was named team captain in 1991. His smooth left-handed swing and diving stops at first base made him an icon, even as the Yankees stumbled through one of their longest championship droughts.

When Aaron Judge wore a pinstripe suit to the All-Star Game this season, he admitted it was a nod to the iconic Mattingly poster from the 1990s.

When New York finally reached the postseason in 1995, Mattingly’s bat roared back to life. He hit .417 in the Division Series against Seattle, including a memorable home run in Game 2 at Yankee Stadium. Though the Yankees lost that series in five games and Mattingly retired that winter, his lone October appearance only deepened his bond with fans who waited years to see him on that stage.

Since then, his career has stretched across multiple dugouts. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2011–15, guiding them to three straight division titles, then spent seven years with the Miami Marlins, where he was named 2020 National League Manager of the Year. Now, as an offensive coordinator in Toronto, he has become a steady voice for a new generation of players.

A Familiar Face in the Opposing Dugout

Now serving as a coach for the Blue Jays, Mattingly is helping guide an opponent that has put Boone’s Yankees on the ropes. The man once idolized in pinstripes is working against them in October.

But that’s part of baseball’s layered history. Boone himself comes from a family of baseball lifers. He knows the power of legacies, and his comments about Mattingly were less about rivalry than about reverence.

“Just a guy that’s turned into kind of a baseball lifer,” Boone said. “Obviously, a great player and now has been an outstanding manager and coach.”

Legacy That Endures

For Yankees fans, seeing Mattingly in Toronto colors is always bittersweet. At one point, he was a favorite to get the Yankees manager job. Instead, he followed another legend, Joe Torre, out west. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Miami Marlins.

Still, he remains a Yankee, even when he’s trying to end the season in the Bronx.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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