Miami Marlins manager has been the right man for the job all along. It took a shortened season, a roster full of young prospects and a culture of change to prove this during the 2020 MLB season.
For all the ridicule Mattingly took in the first four seasons of his stay in Miami, the patience both he and the front office have endured has finally paid off. A playoff berth and a victory in his first postseason game in a Marlins uniform proved that Derek Jeter’s decision to give Mattingly a contract extension following a 57-105 2019 campaign was the right move for everyone concerned.
These Marlins were ahead of the curve in 2020, pushing through a season that was anything but ordinary and showing they could play on a baseball diamond with the big boys. Some didn’t give this cast of players a chance this season. Baseball became sexy in Miami again in a season where fans watched from the privacy of their homes instead of the ballpark.
It was only fitting for this to happen in a year where fewer games meant more wins and better results. It was justified that a young pitching staff would carry this ballclub to its first post season in 17 years. Nothing makes this team standout as a potential World Series champion.
And that’s why it’s a perfect fit for Mattingly, Jeter and the rest of the Miami Marlins organization.
“It has been such a crazy time in baseball. Wednesday was the craziest 24 hours in baseball history, because of the eight Wild Card games,” Mike Lupica of MLB.com wrote. “But there has been no journey crazier than the one the Marlins have had. Through Wednesday, Mattingly’s team had played 31 games in 30 days in September, with four doubleheaders. Only the Cardinals played more games this month, because of their own issues with COVID-19.”
It continues to be a journey fans watch with amazement and joy. After years of hiding their face in shame, it’s hip to be a Marlins fan and root for the Rudy of the current MLB season.
By the time you read this story, the Marlins will have either won their first round series with the Chicago Cubs are there will be a third game to decide which team moves on the second round of the playoffs. And in some way, even if the Marlins were to lose this series, it’s a huge win for the organization – especially Mattingly.
At one point in 2019, Miami was 10-31 and everyone was calling for change in the dugout. Jeter stuck to his gut and a blueprint of how to build this organization then shocked many of us by adding two more years to Mattingly’s contract in an effort for the former Yankees teammate to see the process through. For those of us who thought Jeter was crazy are now recanting their comments and singing his praises.
No one knows how the 2021 season will play out and whether this is a team that has caught lightning in a bottle, but for now, this is a carpet ride we all want to take. This team has adopted Mattingly’s personality of playing a gritty game and doing the little things that will scratch and claw for nine innings. There is nothing flashy about this roster. Players have bought in to his game plan and have banded together. There are no “stars” on the roster – not yet.
No matter what happens, Mattingly has done his job of brining winning baseball back to South Florida. The mission isn’t complete just yet, but if this is the glimpse of how the Marlins will play in 2021, I’m all for it and welcome the blueprint that has been presented by the coaching staff. This is how baseball was played in New York when Mattingly owned first base and was as good a defensive player there was in the 1980s.
Hopefully it means the Marlins are on the rise and baseball has meaning in Miami. After what this organization has been through in 2020 it’s only fitting. Mattingly makes the Marlins better. There isn’t another player or coach who should have been placed in a position to lead this team. It wouldn’t be the same if Mattingly had been let go after the 2019.
The Marlins may not be where they are today had that happened.
