Don Mattingly Batting Title

Lore & Background

Mattingly won the AL batting title with a .343 mark in his first full season in 1984. He was named the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1985 after hitting .324 with 145 runs batted in (RBI), the highest total in the league in over 30 years. The following year, he was runner-up for the MVP award after batting .352, leading the AL in hits, doubles, slugging percentage and total bases; his 53 doubles and 388 total bases were the highest totals by any major league player in the 1980s, and his totals of doubles and 238 hits remain Yankees franchise records.

In Their Own Story

The late afternoon sun casts long shadows across the green expanse of Yankee Stadium as the final out is recorded. Don Mattingly walks slowly toward home plate, the weight of the season's grind evident in his stride but masked by a quiet confidence. He raises his bat slightly, not in celebration, but in acknowledgment of the fans who have cheered him through every at-bat. In that moment, the roar of the crowd feels like a personal tribute to a season where he left nothing on the field.

Reader's Guide

Mattingly played first base throughout his major league career. He won a league-record nine Gold Glove Awards, leading the AL in fielding percentage seven times. He retired with the highest career fielding percentage (.996) in league history, since broken by Mark Teixeira. His 1,634 games at first base then ranked tenth in AL history.

Did You Know?

• Mattingly was a six-time All-Star, selected in 1984, 1985, 1986, and 1987 among those years.
• He tied a major league record by hitting home runs in eight consecutive games in 1987.
• He set a record by hitting six grand slams in one season in 1987.
• The Yankees retired his uniform number (23) in 1997, making him the only Yankee to have his number retired without having won a World Series with the team.