Don Mattingly was obviously pondering the future by bringing his two oldest sons to Yankee Stadium and letting them traipse around the outfield. It was a rare sighting of any children four hours before a game, and Mattingly surely wanted Preston and Taylor to get what could be their last glimpse of the renowned diamond in the Bronx this year. Was it also their last glimpse of the park with their father at first base?
Two days ago, three Mattinglys were standing beside the dugout. But, after the Yankees oppose the Blue Jays today, there probably will not be any Mattinglys at the Stadium because of the impending players strike that is set to begin after tonight's games. The family will return to Evansville, Ind., and Mattingly wondered yesterday if he might be approaching his final game as a Yankee.
"It could be my last game," Mattingly said before the Yankees played the Orioles. "You never know what's going to happen. If this thing goes through the winter and then goes into spring and they're going to do something that goes against my feelings as a person, I don't know if I would play again at that point."
Summer Vacation Is Planned
The 33-year-old Mattingly has a contract through the 1995 season but has hinted strongly about retirement during the last month and bluntly spoke about the end of his career again yesterday. Mattingly, who said last month that he had grown weary of working hard off the field to simply be average, has planned his first summer vacation with his family if the strike is prolonged and then a permanent vacation remains a possibility if the representatives for the owners and the players continue disagreeing.
"It's kind of weird," Mattingly continued, as players packed massive cardboard boxes around him. "It could be the last day of the year. It could be the last day of baseball. Who knows what's going to happen? I may never play again. Who knows what's going to happen during the winter?"
While Mattingly is hitting .305 and has played his typically flawless defense in pursuit of his ninth Gold Glove Award, his power numbers (6 homers, 51 runs batted in) are modest for a first baseman. Still, Mattingly indicated that a possible retirement would not occur because of diminishing skills but because of a potentially lengthy strike or potential concessions given to the owners that irked him.
While there has been speculation that Mattingly might retire if the Yankees won the World Series this year, he has declined to address the topic and has said, "I will talk about it when the time comes."
Post-Season Shot May Be Scuttled
How cruel would it be if the Yankees finally finished in first place and Mattingly was prevented from enjoying the post-season for the first time? No other active player has more at-bats than Mattingly's 6,540 without securing at least one post-season at-bat. Now Mattingly's best chance for meaningful games in October may be scuttled.
"I make my decisions, you live with your decisions, you know?" the team captain said calmly. "If that's my fate, man, then so be it. That's the way I feel about it. I'm not going to look back on it and say I should have fought that strike."
While Mattingly may be the most poignant symbol of the strike, along with the 8-year old kids who have offered to pay the players with their allowances to keep the games going, he is a firm supporter of the union. He observed vocal players like Goose Gossage and Catfish Hunter earlier in his career and has matured in understanding the issues. He claimed some unnamed coaches have implored him by saying, "You can't give in Donnie, you know you can't give in," and Mattingly was also heartened when Ken Griffey Jr. and Frank Thomas, two of the brightest young players in baseball, showed their early support of the Players Association.
"We're talking about guys that are the leading players in the league and I think that's what people listen to," Mattingly said. "They're losing more than anybody and they want to go. They're in there fighting."
So is Mattingly, at least until today. After that, the best Yankee of his era will switch his address from Tenafly, N.J., to Evansville, Ind., and wait to see if another at-bat awaits him or if another trip to the Stadium awaits his sons.
"I'm packing my boxes," Mattingly said, "and I'm going to take my stuff home."
