Don Mattingly as Yankees manager wouldn't be the heartwarming return fans desire

Don Mattingly was a beloved member of the New York Yankees for his time playing first base in pinstripes from 1982-1995. But bringing him back to the organization as the next manager to replace Aaron Boone wouldn't be the heartwarming reunion fans desire.

Mattingly took over as skipper of the Philadelphia Phillies this past season after Rob Thomson was fired following a 9-19 start. Mattingly led the Phillies to 79-55 record and National League Wild Card berth, but the team nearly collapsed down the stretch in September. The Phillies clinched a postseason spot on the final day of the regular season before getting eliminated in the Wild Card round in three games by the NL East rival Atlanta Braves.

Why the Yankees shouldn't bring back Don Mattingly

The Phillies could plan on conducting a wide managerial search, but Mattingly remains in the mix for the job, per The Athletic. If the Phillies decide to move on from Mattingly, the Yankees shouldn't hire him to replace Boone.

As previously mentioned, Mattingly's Phillies went 10-14 in September, dropping from the No. 4 seed to the No. 6 seed in the NL. They just barely made the playoffs and Mattingly was unable to steer them out of their skid given their quick exit from postseason play. This doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the possibility of hiring Mattingly to replace Boone in a bigger and tougher market that is New York.

When you look at both track records of Boone and Mattingly, the former has done a better job at leading a dugout. Boone holds a managerial record of 790-565 (.583 winning percentage), while Mattingly has a record of 968-1,005 (.491 winning percentage).

Boone has led the Yankees to eight postseason berths in nine seasons, which included a trip to the World Series in 2024. Mattingly has been a postseason manager just five times in 13 years, three times with the Los Angeles Dodgers, once with the Miami Marlins and this past season with the Phillies.

Despite having a successful playing career with the Yankees, Mattingly isn't as well equipped as Boone to be managing in New York. Boone has extensive managerial experience in New York, and Mattingly only lasted five seasons with the Dodgers in Los Angeles. If Mattingly came back to the Bronx as the skipper and faltered, it could hurt his legacy with the Yankees.

Why hiring Mattingly isn't that realistic

Boone has one more year remaining on his contract. The Yankees have only moved on from their last three managers when their deals expired: Joe Girardi, Joe Torre and Buck Showalter. So history shows that they probably will stick with Boone for at least another season.

There's also a good chance that the Phillies wind up keeping Mattingly for at least another season as well. Mattingly did a decent job as manager of the Phillies, helping lead their turnaround after an ugly start under Thomson.

The Phillies were just turned down by Alex Cora for the second time this year, and Mattingly has earned a shot at getting a full season as manager in Philadelphia. For that, Mattingly likely won't be available, even if the Yankees wanted to bring him in to replace Boone.

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