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Toronto Star
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
Baseball and bloodlines lead Don and Preston Mattingly to the same place on Father's Day
This Father's Day comes with a bit of an edge for Preston Mattingly and his dad. The Phillies are trying to sweep the Blue Jays: the son looking to best the father. Deep Left Field Jordan Romano, Don Mattingly and son, Phillies GM Preston Mattingly Mike Wilner Blue Jays coach Don Mattingly has been looking up to the executive suite at Citizens Bank Park this weekend and seeing his son Preston, who became general manager of the Phillies last fall. 'Preston has always loved sports,' said proud papa Don in an interview for the current episode of 'Deep Left Field,' the Star's baseball podcast. 'One of those kids that wakes up in the morning and has (ESPN's) 'SportsCenter' on and all that kind of stuff. He's been around not just this game but sports in general, and loves it. To see him doing well is really good.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Having a father who was not just successful in the game but a borderline Hall of Famer gave Preston a leg up, no question. But the Mattingly name can be a heavy one. When your nickname is Donnie Baseball, that comes with certain expectations for the progeny. Mattingly saw that when his three older sons were playing. Preston is the middle child from Mattingly's first marriage. 'I was out of the game for a while and going to (Preston and older son Taylor's) games,' said the Jays' third-year bench coach. 'I felt for them. When they were playing baseball, I think the parents and other people think: Oh, he supposed to be good, he's supposed to be this. They don't allow them just to play.' Preston said he doesn't remember people treating him any differently as the son of a New York Yankees legend, but looking back he can see it. 'Obviously being who he is, people probably look at me a little bit differently,' said the 37-year-old GM. 'But he was always great in letting me be myself and do my own thing. Never forced me or any of my brothers to play or do anything, and so with that there was no added pressure. Anything other people put on us externally, nothing came from him or my family.' But Preston played anyway. Drafted 31st by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2006 — two years before his father became the team's hitting coach — the younger Mattingly got a million-dollar bonus and played six seasons in the minors (never reaching Double-A) before returning to school and playing college basketball at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. Preston stayed in touch with Logan White, who was the scouting director with the Dodgers when he was drafted and had since moved to the San Diego Padres. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Gta From rib festivals to car shows, here are ways to celebrate Father's Day in Toronto Kristjan Lautens, Daniel Opasinis 'He was kind of in-between, like what he was going to do,' said Don, who was managing the Miami Marlins at that time. 'He came down to spring training with me for about a week and then San Diego called to interview him.' Preston picked up the story. 'I flew out to Arizona (to the Padres' spring training facility) and met with (White) and some of the members of the front office and they offered me a job. I started in scouting and worked my way into different various front-office roles ... It was more just getting my feet wet and understanding the ins and outs and ebbs and flows of the front office. It was very indicative early on that it was something I wanted to do because I just love that side of the game, too.' Nearly a decade later, Preston Mattingly has his own team to run in Philadelphia, while his father (drafted 493rd by the Yankees in 1979) is in his 47th season in professional baseball. The senior Mattingly, having played with Ken Griffey Sr. for the first five years of his career, remembers Ken Griffey Jr. running around the Yankees clubhouse and believes kids learn baseball through osmosis. 'Being around the game, they see what it looks like,' Mattingly said of all the big-league juniors. 'They know how these guys talk, they're not intimidated by players. I'm going into the Yankees clubhouse as a 20-year-old, I'm scared halfway to ... don't know what to do. He's been getting autographs from guys since he was six years old hanging around the locker room.' It helps, being born into the game. The Blue Jays know this well, and have even made bloodlines part of their development strategy over the past few years. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Daulton Varsho are current Jays whose fathers were big-leaguers. Vladdy's was a Hall of Famer, while Bichette and Varsho's dads (Dante and Gary) combined to play 22 seasons in the majors. Blue Jays Opinion Mike Wilner: The Blue Jays take a stand for the anthems, for each other, and maybe for their season Mike Wilner The Jays recently t ook two out of three from the Phillies at the Rogers Centre, while Preston watched his dad from the suites above. 'The passion he has for helping players, that's always been the biggest thing,' said the Phillies GM. 'He never lost sight of how hard the game is — even how great a player he was — and just shares that passion for helping players achieve the goals and dreams they want to achieve.' On Father's Day in Philadelphia, the dad will be looking up at his son. 'I'm pretty impressed, honestly,' said the Jays coach. 'He's good with people, which you have to be. He's good with all the numbers and everything, all the technology today ... but still, there's a human side, and I think he's got a pretty good balance of that.'
Toronto Star
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
Inside the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame banquet with Jose Bautista, Greg Hamilton, Larry Walker, Ernie Whitt, Denis Boucher and more
Guests: Canadian Baseball Hall of Famers Jose Bautista, Greg Hamilton, Larry Walker, Ernie Whitt and Denis Boucher; George and Loris Asay, parents of posthumous inductee Amanda Asay; Carol Lee, daughter of posthumous inductee Arleene Noga This special bonus episode of Deep Left Field comes to you from St. Marys, Ontario, home of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The Hall's induction weekend includes a Friday golf tournament, and a banquet that follows, featuring a casual interview segment with inductees and guests. We take you to the banquet and present, live to tape, the interview session with this year's inductees and their families, as well as stories from past inductees Larry Walker, Ernie Whitt and Denis Boucher, all of whom are on Greg Hamilton's coaching staff for Canada's Senior Men's National Team. Listen here or subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts. If you would like to support the journalism of the Toronto Star, you can at
Toronto Star
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Toronto Star
The Blue Jays take a stand for the anthems, for each other, and maybe for their season
By Baseball Columnist Mike Wilner is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star and host of the baseball podcast 'Deep Left Field.' Follow him on Twitter: @wilnerness Early arrivers to Rogers Centre have seen something during this homestand that hasn't been seen around these parts in years. When the national anthems play, the Blue Jays are almost all out on the field standing at attention. For many years, outside of special events or Junior Jays days, player presence during the anthems was minimal, at best. The entire coaching staff would be lined up in front of the dugout but there would only be two or three players at the most. Often there would be another couple of players in the outfield who were caught out there while finishing up their pre-game sprints.
