Don Mattingly‘s resume could be anyone’s envy in baseball. He was the New York Yankees’ home boy during his playing career. He managed and coached top teams like the Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins, and Toronto Blue Jays. However, one World Series ring is what is still missing in his cabinet, and the Blue Jays’ dominance last year took Mattingly to its nearest. He still remembers it and fails to get over it, despite his dominant start as the Philadelphia Phillies’ manager.

“I lived through it once,” Mattingly said to The Toronto Sun’s Steve Simmons. “I know how it ended.”

Mattingly joined the Blue Jays in 2023 as bench coach and stayed till the 2025 World Series Game 7. The Dodgers and the Jays entered Game 7, winning 3 games each in the series. In the ninth inning, the Jays were just two outs from the title, leading 4-3. The camera frequently focused on the tense Mattingly and John Schneider in the dugout. But Dodgers pinch-hitter Miguel Rojas hit a game-tying solo home run off Toronto reliever Jeff Hoffman.

The score stayed tied till the 11th when Will Smith connected off Shane Bieber to give the Dodgers their first lead of the night. At the bottom of the 11th, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a leadoff double. He advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt, but the rally fell short when Alejandro Kirk grounded into a double play to end the game and the series. That would perhaps be the cruelest ending to the Jays’ otherwise dominant season.

“If you’re the team that doesn’t get the last out, it’s a crash,” Mattingly added. “It doesn’t matter what the level is, or if it’s the first round, the feeling is the same.”

For a player and a manager who have 6x All-Star selections, an MVP, 9x Gold Glove Awards, 3x Silver Slugger Awards, and many more, a missing World Series ring stings a lot. But for Mattingly, coming so close and losing it with a double play stings the most. Despite now managing the Phillies, he is yet to recover from those haunted memories and may have gotten nostalgic returning to the Rogers Centre for a series.

Last year, Don Mattingly returned empty-handed from Rogers Centre, but this time, as the Phillies are facing the Jays, Mattingly is in a comfortable position. Rob Thomson was fired after the Phillies’ nightmarish 9-19 start this year. Then-bench coach Don Mattingly took over as the interim manager for the remainder of the season, and everything changed.

Under Mattingly, the Phillies are 26-11 and have played .703 baseball. But for him, the ultimate joy comes from working under his son, Preston Mattingly, who serves as the GM of the Phillies. Memories remain, and only the Phillies’ World Series triumph in 2026 would make Mattingly forget 2025. But there’s more waiting for the veteran.

2026 has more to offer to Mattingly

Mattingly successfully transformed the struggling Phillies and gained the clubhouse’s trust in this short time. “I don’t like leaving guys on bases, so that’s one of the main reasons I felt great today. Even though I had 100 pitches or close to that, I felt great today. And, obviously, a big thank you to the manager for trusting me with that. And I told him that after the game,” Cristopher Sanchez said after allowing 2 runs and 10 SOs against the Jays on Monday.

So, Mattingly is doing what he does best, but there’s more for him.

“Oli Marmol and Phillies manager Don Mattingly will be the non-Dodger coaches with Roberts,” Bob Nightengale reported. The NL All-Star team’s manager, Dave Roberts, reportedly sought Mattingly on the panel. With the Phillies’ names like Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Sanchez, all of whom will possibly play in the All-Star game, Mattingly comes as an automatic choice.

Coincidentally, the AL All-Star team will be managed by the Jays’ John Schneider. The duo of the 2025 Jays’ dominating campaign would now have a face-off in the All-Star Game.