Donnie Baseball Deserves Call From The Hall

November 23, 2025

The Baseball Hall of Fame has announced its list of candidates to be considered for induction by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee. The Committee’s decision will be announced on December 7. Former Yankees’ first baseman Don Mattingly is on the list. And if the Committee does its job, he will soon be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

This is not said lightly. No other sport offers the same level of debate and intense passion regarding Hall of Fame membership as baseball. It is more than just a building in Cooperstown. It represents both the game’s greatest players and the long-storied history of America’s pastime.

Would Don Mattingly’s induction lower the standard for Hall of Fame membership or diminish the history of Major League Baseball in any way? The numbers say no, as does Mattingly’s character and long history in the game.

We’ll get to the numbers in a second. Let’s talk about the man himself. Mattingly, an Evansville, Indiana native drafted by the Yankees in 1979, has been a part of Major League Baseball – either as a player, coach or manager – for nearly 35 years. His reputation in all that time has remained sterling. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find one teammate, contemporary or current-day player with a single negative word to say about him.

That regard extends to a New York fan base that made Mattingly perhaps the most adored New York sports figure ever during his playing days. Talk to those who experienced Mattingly’s first ever postseason appearance in 1995, and they’ll tell you about the chills they still get thinking of how loudly the Yankee Stadium crowd cheered whenever Mattingly appeared on the field.

He is known for signing countless autographs. For playfully stealing popcorn from a young fan during a game in 1992. For providing a hilarious cameo on The Simpsons. And for his charitable work through Mattingly Charities. In short, by his reputation alone, Mattingly would bolster the Hall and the game’s standing.

Hall of Fame induction, however, is not based solely on being a nice person. So, let’s look at his stats. Mattingly played from 1982-1995, becoming a full-time player in 1984. That year, he won a batting title. The next year, he won the American League Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, hitting 35 home runs and driving in an astounding 145 runs, the most driven in by any player in a single season between 1962-1995.

In 1986 he finished second in MVP voting while setting a Yankees’ record for hits in a season. In 1987, Mattingly established a major league record by hitting six grand slams. He also established a record for most home runs (10) in consecutive games (8).

From 1984-1987, he averaged a .337 batting average, .560 slugging percentage and a 155 OPS+ (OPS+ measures a player’s value compared to his contemporaries, with 100 representing the average player. This means Mattingly was 55% better than the average player during this time). While batting average itself has become less important in today’s game, that should hardly punish Mattingly given the statistic’s importance during his playing days.

Mattingly was an All-Star every year from 1984-1989, led the league in doubles for three consecutive seasons, led the league in total bases twice and had the most extra base hits and RBIs of any player in that span. During that time, he was nearly as likely to hit a home run as he was to strike out and he won AL Player of the Month four times. For comparison’s sake, a Yankee player only won AL Player of the Month three times during the entire 1990s.

How does Mattingly stack up compared to other Hall of Famers or his contemporaries? Hall of Famers Scott Rolen and Joe Mauer had only one season with an OPS+ above 155. Hall of Famer Tim Raines never had a season above 155. Mattingly AVERAGED that number over the course of four seasons.

Also consider this: From 1984-1989, a period of six full seasons, Mattingly had more total bases than any player in the game. That includes 21 future Hall of Famers who were active throughout that entire six-season period. In essence, he was the best player in baseball for six seasons, something most players – including those in the Hall of Fame – cannot claim, not even for a single season. Mattingly was so good that Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett nicknamed him “Donnie Baseball.” How many athletes, in any sport, are so good at their profession that their nickname is literally just the sport that they play?

Mattingly led the American League 12 times in categories that can be deemed offensively significant. Hall of Famers like Todd Helton only led 10 times, Vlademir Guerrero, Sr., nine times, Fred McGriff six times, and Alan Trammell zero times.

There are only seven players in baseball history who spent the majority of their career at first base and finished with a career batting average of .305 or better and over 200 home runs. The only one of those seven not in the Hall of fame is Don Mattingly.

Mattingly is also arguably among the greatest defensive players of all time. He won nine Gold Gloves, the second most ever by a first baseman, and led the league in fielding percentage seven times. Yes, we now know that neither Gold Gloves nor fielding percentage are the best way to measure defensive ability. But is it reasonable to believe that Mattingly achieved all of this and somehow wasn’t an elite fielder? That everyone who watched him play was simply mistaken?

It is also worth noting that only 11 players have ever won nine Gold Gloves and an MVP award. Nine of them are in the Hall of Fame.
Mattingly is one of the two who isn’t.

If Mattingly’s playing career isn’t enough for his enshrinement, adding his post-career resume should do it. Since retiring in 1995, Mattingly has spent 20 years as a coach or manager. As manager of the Dodgers, he led the team to three consecutive playoff appearances, something no Dodger manager had ever done. He also led the 2020 Marlins to their first playoff appearances in 17 years, earning him National League Manager of the Year.

Does all of this sound like a player who does not deserve induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame? Does a back injury that sapped his power in the second half of his career really nullify all these achievements? And, perhaps most importantly, can an honest argument be made that putting Mattingly in the Hall of Fame would diminish the Hall or the game of baseball?

The answer, of course, is a resounding no. The Contemporary Baseball Era Committee must do the right thing. On December 7, they should announce that, at long last, Donald Arthur Mattingly is officially a Hall of Famer.