Tucked into a file folder of mine that contains an assortment of clippings is a column written for another newspaper. It is now more than 15 years old and begins with a pair of italicized quotes:
"Three years and a lot of money shows their respect for me and I intend to repay them for it." -- Don Mattingly, Jan. 11, 1988.
"You get no respect around here. You get money and that's it. They think money is respect. Money is not respect." -- Don Mattingly, Aug. 21, 1988.
"They," of course, meant George Steinbrenner, who had somehow managed to get under his first baseman's skin as another season during Mattingly's pennant-less career wilted in the late-summer heat. This wasn't the first or last time Mattingly lashed out, grew sick of being harassed or accused of swinging for the fences as he bore down on a consecutive-game home run record or being told his hair was too long to suit the owner.
The reluctant outbursts of Steinbrenner's top-earning player, always news, were completely forgotten or conveniently ignored the other day as Mattingly returned to the fold after eight years at home in Evansville, Indiana. He replaced Rick Down as batting coach, a position the Boss has recently granted a level of security equal to that of the person responsible for delivering his sandwich with the right amount of mayo. But it will apparently be different for Mattingly because Steinbrenner has always recognized him as the prodigal Yankee and shown him the appropriate respect. Hah.
Mattingly, it is now being speculated, will come back to teach Alfonso Soriano how to stop chasing breaking balls and to learn from Joe Torre how to become the Yankees' next manager. In response to this near anointing of Mattingly as the next manager, I can only ask: Where, exactly, is that liberal news media Rush Limbaugh was ranting about, the crusaders so interested in the causes of the African-American quarterback and coach?
Where is the swell of support for Willie Randolph, who has been a quintessential Yankee for much of the last 27 years and who has spent the last 10 putting in the hours, paying his dues?
Mattingly, a great hitter, a good guy, made the right call for his old teammate at Tuesday's news conference. "Willie has been here a long time," Mattingly said. "To me, he's the next guy in line."
Steinbrenner wasn't around to second the motion. Randolph, the third-base coach, has been promoted to Torre's bench lieutenant. That might have been a telltale sign, Mattingly's presence excluded. Assuming Torre will remain one more season, the notion of Mattingly's being groomed to suit Steinbrenner's need for a managerial name will not go away unless the owner makes it so by naming Randolph in advance. Crazy? This wouldn't be the first time Steinbrenner tabbed his next manager before his present one was done. (See Bob Lemon-Billy Martin, 1978.)
History lends credence to the Mattingly-as-manager scenario. The more changes Steinbrenner makes, the more things remain the same. In the game of managerial musical chairs he played until Torre came along in 1996, Steinbrenner has gone for the big-name hire and the minor league hand, for those with major league experience and those without. Not one of these men happened to be black. You want to excuse this as a three-decade-old coincidence? Fine, but the time to break that dubious streak is coming, not because Randolph is black but because he has earned it.
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