The Toronto Blue Jays found their bench coach this morning, hiring former Miami Marlins and Los Angeles manager Don Mattingly to serve under manager John Schneider.
Mattingly amassed a total of 443 wins as manager of the Marlins, which is the most by any manager in franchise history.
The 61-year-old also led the Dodgers to three straight division titles from 2013-15.
Mattingly spent his entire playing career with the New York Yankees, spending 14 seasons in Yankee Pinstripes.
Interestingly enough, Schneider grew up in New Jersey and was a Yankees fan, and the star first baseman was his favorite player as a kid.
Schneider Gets Unique Opportunity
Schneider now has a chance to live out a dream.
Obviously, over the past few weeks, while the Blue Jays were still searching for their new bench coach, Schneider had a chance to speak with Mattingly on multiple occasions.
With the former Marlins manager now in the fold, Schneider now has a chance to work with his childhood hero.
The Blue Jays will certainly benefit from having Mattingly around to share his wisdom and insights on the game of baseball.
But as a young manager, Schneider has the opportunity to learn from Mattingly as well.
The Blue Jays skipper is entering his first full season on the job after taking over for Charlie Montoyo mid-season.
The 42-year-old helped lead the Jays to a 92-win season and their second postseason berth in three years.
Mattingly has plenty of postseason experience as a manager that he can share with Schneider, having taken the Dodgers there three times and guiding the Marlins to the expanded postseason in 2020.
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