I remember Don hitting a homer in the finals of the Indiana State tournament at Indy’s Busch Stadium in 1979. I didn’t remember that they had lost the game. Looking up the records, I see that they lost 6-5 and it was their only loss of the year against 29 wins. It was very cool to see a kid from Indiana make it big in the Bigs.
Indians fan here but I was a huge Donnie baseball fan. He was my favorite. The hit man. I had the hit man poster. What an amazing baseball player and person.
Thanks so much for putting this up. He's been my favorite player since the mid 80's...and always will be!...A class act on and off the field...I'm biased of course, but to me he's a hall of famer...6 time all-star...9 time gold glove...arguably the best first baseman for a decade...If he can win with the Dodgers, I believe he'll get in the hall some day...GO GET'EM #23!!!!!!!
michael mattice you know what irks me? It’s the fact that it’s called the Hall Of Fame, not the Hall of Stats. I can’t think of any more famous baseball player who is not in the Hall of Fame. Don is just as famous today as we was in the 80’s. He needs to be in.
@@dane961 thats weird cuase he was always kind to the writers. hall of fame and world series is over rated. the mark of a true baseball player in my book, is your day to day play and your stats when your career ends minus injuries. r bis Hr hits, during your seasons, thats what i look at. world series is a snap shot in time. the hall is a popukarity contast like all of life.
I'm sort of surprised they didn't mention his own restaurant from the 80s & early 90's. I remember the food being excellent and the walls were absolutely chock full of his own memorabilia. Even a drink coaster from there would fetch a nice sum in NYC or anywhere else.
One Yankee fan from Stamford CT believes #23 stands at the pinnacle. I'm far from alone in that regard too. Thank you, Donnie, for memories that will follow me to the grave.
If there is a cooler cat in the Bigs, I haven't seen him. I bet he could still suit up and jack pills into the upper deck at Yankee stadium. he and Bonds had the quickest bats I've ever seen, power pitchers couldn't beat them very often.
This is a great video.. Don Mattingly was one of my fav baseball players growing up.. I also liked him as the manager of the Dodgers -- my hometown team. Wish him the best.
Great piece on a class act. One thing: didn't Don go to Evansville Memorial High School (not Reitz Memorial)? Did the schools consolidate? Again, very cool video for one of my favorites.
+rickvaughn Evansville Memorial and Reitz Memorial are the same school. They just call it Evansville Memorial around the state to eliminate confusion with Reitz.
Reitz High School is on the west side. Reitz Memorial High School is on Lincoln Ave. I went there. Evansville Memorial HS and Reitz Memorial HS are the exact same high school.
I'm a 1989 graduate of (Reitz) Memorial High School. Evansville Reitz High School is a public high school on the west side of Evansville. Memorial is a Catholic high school on the city's east side. I've always said there are bigger (and more) photos of Mattingly in the school than there are of the Pope. LOL
Lifelong NYY fan here. For sure NOT a HOFer. Hate to say it but there was nothing spectacular about his last 6 mlb seasons. Injuries wrecked his HOF playing career. And unfortunately he’s never won a championship or four like Joe Torre did as a manager. For if he had he’d be in the hall by now
