The Dodgers are in good hands with Joe Torre and that won’t end if and when Don Mattingly takes over.
And Vin Scully should know; he‘s seen a lot of baseball in his 61 years as the play-by-play man for the Dodgers.
“The players not only have a tremendous respect for him, I think long ago he was able to prove he was a knowledgeable hitting coach,” Scully said.
“And I think most people in the area think that he is the heir apparent, waiting in the wings. I know the players really respect and love him, so he’s done a really great job. The players have such a good feeling about him that if it happens it should be an easy transition.”
Some expected that transition to eventually take place in The Bronx, not Los Angeles. Mattingly was named Yankees hitting coach in 2003 and with his history with the team it made sense that he would replace Torre as Yankees manager when he eventually retired.
But Torre left the Yankees after the 2007 season, after getting what he considered an insulting contract extension offer. Mattingly interviewed for the job, but was second choice to Joe Girardi. So, when Torre decided to manage the Dodgers, Mattingly came with him.
Scully has seen them all from Burt Shotton to Tommy Lasorda to Davey Johnson to Grady Little in Brooklyn and now Los Angeles.
Scully said Mattingly’s experience with the Yankees, where he manned first base for 14 seasons, is the reason he will impress if he takes over as Dodgers manager.
“It starts with his knowledge of the game,” said Scully, who will be calling the Dodgers-Yankees series in Los Angeles.
“He was an extremely successful ballplayer so he understands what it means to have the pressure — having people expect you to excel. That helps a great deal. Also, having been a player, he knows what a player likes from a manager. And it helps to be in the dugout with Joe Torre. So, if you put it all together you would have to believe he would be a fine manager.”
When Torre, 70, plans on stepping down is still a question. His contract expires at the end of the season and he was negotiating a one-year extension before the season but suspended talks when the season started not wanting to be a distraction.
It’s been a turbulent year for the Dodgers. Owner Frank McCourt is involved in a messy divorce, GM Ned Colletti called out the team when they were struggling in early April, and they are involved in a tight four-team race in the NL West.
They will enter the series against the Yankees coming off a win over the Angels that snapped a six-game skid. But Scully said he believes the team’s inconsistent year is the fault of the players, not Torre.
“There’s no question about Joe’s ability as a manager,” Scully said. “I think he is a proven winner and I guess he has done his usual winning job. Except if you’re the jockey and the horse doesn’t run hard enough you are not going to win, and the same goes for any manager in the game.
“But I think Joe has been through so much — the ups and downs — as a player and a manager I think he is the right man, especially now, for a somewhat troubled ballclub. Because he is very patient and understanding and he does a great job with the media. All in all, I would say he gets extremely high marks.”