The Philadelphia Phillies are committed to Don Mattingly.
The Phils fired Rob Thomson from his managerial post in the midst of the season and brought in Donnie Baseball on an interim basis.
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With Mattingly in the clubhouse, the Phillies turned their season around but narrowly escaped a late-season collapse, and they lost in the National League Wild Card Series to the Atlanta Braves.
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Interim manager Don Mattingly of the Philadelphia Phillies looks on during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citizens Bank Park on Sept. 24, 2026, in Philadelphia, Pa. (Getty Images)
But the Phillies must have liked what they saw, Mattingly will have the interim tag taken off and be hired full time. He signed a two-year deal, the team announced Wednesday.
It, of course, should be noted that Mattingly’s son, Preston, is the general manager of the team.
The Phillies were 9-19 when they fired Thomson, and Mattingly’s Phillies went 73-45 in their next 118 games, but they lost five of their last 15.
Philadelphia Phillies bench coach Don Mattingly stands in the dugout during a game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park in Cumberland, Georgia, on April 26, 2026. (Dale Zanine/Imagn Images)
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Philadelphia will be the third team that Mattingly has been the manager of, along with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami Marlins. Mattingly was the bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays from 2023 through their pennant-winning season of 2025 but stepped down shortly after they lost the World Series.
Mattingly has been in professional baseball since 1979 and has yet to win a World Series — the 2025 Fall Classic was the first one he appeared in.
The Phillies’ main core of Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber isn’t going anywhere, while Aaron Nola and Christopher Sanchez are under contract for several more years.
Interim manager Don Mattingly of the Philadelphia Phillies looks on from the dugout before Game 3 of the National League Wild Card Series against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia. (MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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Philadelphia has had an open window throughout this decade, as Harper won his second MVP in 2021. But they lost the World Series in 2022 and have gone backward since then, losing in the 2023 NLCS, the 2024 and 2025 NLDS and the Wild Card this year.