Mattingly, Donald A.
Baseball
b. April 20, 1961, Evansville, IN
After his first six full seasons in the major leagues, Mattingly looked like a shoo-in for the hall of fame. Then injuries struck and he suddenly looked like a rather ordinary player.
A left-handed first baseman, Mattingly appeared in 7 games with the New York Yankees in 1982 and was with the team for more than half the 1983 season. In 1984, his first full season in the majors, he led the league with 207 hits, 44 doubles, and a .343 batting average.
Mattingly was named the league's most valuable player in 1985, when he hit .324 with a league-leading 48 doubles and 145 RBI. He led the AL in 1986 with 238 hits, 53 doubles, and a .573 slugging percentage.
In 1987, Mattingly set a major league record by hitting six grand slam home runs, and he tied the record by having at least one home run in each of eight consecutive games. He also had at least one extra-base hit in ten straight games, breaking the record Babe Ruth had set in 1921.
After batting .311 and .303 during the next two seasons, Mattingly suffered a back injury and missed more than fifty games in 1990. After he returned, the recurring back problem hampered his swing. Mattingly hit only .288 in 1991 and .287 in 1992, totaling just 23 home runs over those two seasons.
In 1993, Mattingly rebounded somewhat, hitting 17 home runs and batting .291 in 134 games. He got back over .300 in 1994, but hit only 6 home runs. After dropping down to .288 in 1995, Mattingly decided to sit out a season in the hope that his back would benefit from the rest. However, early in 1997 he decided a comeback was impossible and he formally announced his retirement.
In addition to being a fine hitter, Mattingly was an outstanding defensive first baseman. He led American League first basemen in fielding percentage four straight seasons, from 1984 through 1987, and he won five straight Gold Glove Awreds, from 1985 through 1989. His lifetime fielding percentage of .996 ties the major league record for the position.