Donnie Baseball

Book excerpt: Don Mattingly is perhaps the greatest Yankee never to have won a World Series. A nine-time Gold Glove winner at first base, the mustachioed star affectionately called Donnie Baseball was named to six All-Star teams in the 1980s and slugged 222 home runs in 14 seasons. Yet Mattingly never reached the postseason until his final season in 1995 a campaign that ended with a crushing divisional playoff loss to Seattle. This book reveals the inner complexities of a man whose hard-nosed approach to the game turned him from a 19th-round draft choice who struggled to hit for power into the 1985 American League MVP. Mattingly reflected on his career and shared unique insights on his public debates with George Steinbrenner, the true motivation behind his retirement at age 34, his chances of being voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and more. This book also focuses on Mattingly s coaching career, including the Yankees choice to hire Joe Girardi instead of Mattingly to succeed Joe Torre as the Yankees skipper before the 2008 season and Mattingly's path to Los Angeles, where he was named Torre's successor as the Dodgers manager following the 2010 season. Through lengthy interviews with Mattingly and the players, coaches, and opponents who know him best, Donnie Baseball will finally reveal the player and coach fans have adored for decades.-Publisher's description.